


Suds, Spuds, and Sweet Nothings

by BANANNA527



Category: DRAMAtical Murder - All Media Types
Genre: AU-Modern, Aoba has a sweet tooth, Aoba is a dishwasher, Aoba makes donuts, Bacon, Breakfast, Clear and Alphas are HUMANSSSS, Clear has crocs!, Copious amounts of potatos and bacon, Crocs, Did I mention Clear has crocs???, Heibon is a diner, M/M, Toue is a douche, lol, lots of kitchen lingo(Will be explained), lotsadonuts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-08
Updated: 2015-10-12
Packaged: 2018-04-19 11:23:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 20,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4744463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BANANNA527/pseuds/BANANNA527
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In an Alternate Universe where Aoba works in Haga's Heibon, a western style diner run by Haga. One day, Haga decides to hire a new employee, Clear, in order to alleviate the duties of Aoba and Mizuki. The task of training the ever-so-eccentric newbie falls to Aoba, and pretty soon, he realizes that the heat in his cheeks isn't just from the kitchen.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The New Guy

**Author's Note:**

> In here, Kitchen lingo will be explained as it appears in every chapter and whatnot. LETZ GET TO IT  
> Things that may be useful for CH1!  
> A float is someone in the kitchen who does a little bit of everything, like prep (In this case, peel potatoes and the like), wash dishes, clean at the end of the day, those kinds of things. In this fic, Aoba is a float.  
> A line cook is a guy who just cooks, but isn't the chef.  
> House is another word for restaurant sort of, the front of the house is where the customers and tables are, while the back of the house is a fancy way of saying kitchen. 
> 
> Ps, this is my first ever fic, and I'm SUUUUPER Pumped, especially because I think it would be cute for Clear to play with soap suds and stuff. Also any and all feedback is more than welcome, I hope you like it!

At age 23, Aoba Seragaki had been recognized as Midorijima's best kitchen float, or has he would say, the best dish bitch, because in essence that was what he did. For the past eleven years he had washed dishes at Haga's Heibon, a diner specializing in all things breakfast. Most of the time, he peeled potatoes or washed plates covered in dried up egg yolks and pans stained with grease, but occasionally, he would be called upon to bake various goods for the glass case at the front of the house. His forte was donuts, the recipe for which was borrowed from his grandmother. Whenever Aoba made donuts, they were gone by closing. However, his favorite task in the kitchen was mopping the floor at the end of the day. It wasn't because he had hated his job and was glad when it was over, but rather because it was when he could have his "me-time." When he mopped, he was the only one left in the building, so he could turn up the otherwise quiet ambient music and take his time. Sometimes, he would pretend to dance with the mop as it glided across the tiles of the kitchen. At age 23, peeling potatoes, washing dishes, making donuts, and dancing with mops was Aoba Seragki's life; that was, until the happy-go-lucky white haired new guy decided to make an appearance.

It was a Tuesday morning, 10 AM, Aoba had been at work for six hours now, but since Tuesdays were usually slow, it felt as through he had been there for twelve. It was on this day that his boss/ head chef of Haga's Heibon, Haga himself had sauntered into the kitchen from the front of the house with a taller man who had snow white hair, sunglasses, and a surgeon's mask on. He was wearing a cream sweater and blue grey cargo pants, on his feet, he wore crocs the same color as his pants. Standing in front of the sink with his arms submerged up to his elbows, Aoba gave the stranger a thrice-over before Haga introduced the man.

"Aoba, this is Clear." Haga motioned to the man called Clear, "Starting tomorrow, he'll be around to help out in the kitchen."

Clear stuck out his hand, and Aoba saw that he was wearing white gloves as well, "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Aoba-san."  _wow, this guy is polite._

Removing his arms from the sink, Aoba dried his right hand against his apron, grabbed Clear's outstretched one, and gave it a firm shake before saying, "Likewise." Afterwards, the trio stood in awkward silence for what must have been 45 seconds until Virus, one of the waiters came up to the window.

"Haga-san, order in!" He said as he placed a yellow order slip onto the counter before heading back to tend to the few customers that were there.

"Got it!" Haga called as he moved over to the window where Virus had just been.

The sound of eggs frying in a pan was amplified by the awkward silence that hung around Clear and Aoba as both stood, confused as to what they should do next. It took about five seconds for the both of them to realize that they were both still holding hands. Clear slowly let go and motioned to the door with his hand, "I should probably take my leave now." He chuckled nervously as he spoke.

The other man rubbed the back of his neck and smiled, "Yeah, so I'll see you tomorrow then?"

Clear gave a curt nod before backing out of the kitchen; the door still swinging as Aoba washed his hands and went back to work.

 

__________

 

Nineteen hours later, at 5AM on Wednesday Morning, Aoba Seragaki had his second encounter with Clear. By that time, Aoba had been in the kitchen for an hour making donuts, and he had read the note that Haga had left for him: _Please make more of those donuts. Also, if Mizuki isn't here by the time that you show up, make sure he gets his sorry behind there, as I have business to take care of and won't be around for a couple of days. On that note, haha, note... the new guy should be there by 5, can you please show him the ropes, since I intend for him to be another float. Good Luck- Boss Haga._ Aoba chuckled remembering the note and how luckily, when he had showed up, Mizuki was already there, half asleep hovering over a pot of potatoes; the whole back of the house had smelled like bacon. Actually, it still smelled like bacon when the cheery faced newbie showed up promptly at five, just like Haga had said. Well, at least Aoba thought his face looked cheery; he couldn't really tell because it was covered in the same manner that it had been yesterday. The way he had greeted made it seem like he was excited for his new job.

"So," Clear clasped his gloved hands together, "What do you wish for me to do?"

"Well, umm..." Aoba was at a loss for words. The first thing he knew he _had_ to do was to get the person before him to take off those gloves, and wash his hands, but he had a feeling that it would be more challenging than it looked. Luckily, Mizuki had taken the liberty of asking Clear to do what Aoba had wanted to ask.

"First things first, you gotta remove those gloves, and sunglasses." Mizuki stood behind Aoba lifting an eyebrow at the person who he only knew as the new guy. 

"Why must I do that?" If any other person had asked that, both Mizuki and Aoba would have found it to be extremely condescending. However, when Clear had asked that, it came off as being nothing but innocent. Aoba began to wonder if this guy knew anything about working in a kitchen.

"Because it's against regulations." Mizuki was blunt in his answer before returning to his station to prep what any normal person would call a mountain of potatoes.

"But-"

"But what?" Aoba had asked, genuinely curious as to why this guy didn't want to remove his accessories.

"These glasses are prescription!" Clear seemed to be going into panic mode, "I cannot see without them! I apologize if this is an inconvenience! If it is too much of a hindrance, I shall have to take my leave!"

Aoba put his hands on the other's shoulders in an attempt to calm him down, "It's alright, you don't have to leave. But is it alright if you let me check, just to make sure that they're prescription?"

"Excuse me?"

"Would you let me try your glasses, just to check?" As soon as Aoba had finished talking, Clear turned his back to the other. _Oh shit, did I just scare him off?_ However, a second later, Aoba saw a pair of glasses awkwardly thrust at his chest as Clear's back was still to him.

"Here." Was all Clear had said.

Aoba put the glasses on; they were a little wide for his head, but that didn't bother him as much as the fact that with these glasses, everything was dark and blurry;  _definitely prescription_. Within half a second of putting them on, the glasses were off and, respecting Clear's silent request to remain unseen, handed to him from over his shoulder. Clear still had his back to him when Aoba had said, "It's alright, you can wear the glasses."

"What about the gloves?"

"Well, if we put you on dishes all day, you can wear rubber gloves, but the cloth gloves have to go; they're unsanitary. You'll also have to wash your hands. Its the rules." At this point, the newbie had turned around and nodded, seeming to have agreed with this arrangement.  With that, the two headed over to the sink. Out of habit, Aoba washed his hands for the third time that day. As he was drying them, he looked over to Clear, who just stood in front of the sink, his gloves still on, "You do know how to wash your hands, right?"

"Yes," Clear began to twiddle his thumbs nervously, "It's just that-"

Aoba, quickly realizing that Clear didn't want to show him what was underneath his gloves cut him off, "It's okay, I won't look; I'll go get you a pair of gloves."

The other nodded, "Thank you very much."

"No problem," Aoba called over his shoulder as he went to the back room, "Make sure to get them squeaky clean!" Once Aoba was in the back room, he sighed and stood in the entrance-way for a moment, trying to absorb the situation.  _Where in the world had Haga found this guy? Why was he so polite? We both work the same position. Sure I have more experience, but he talks like_ I'm _the chef!_ _On top of that, he's extremely self-conscience about his appearance..._

"Aoba?" Mizuki's voice had brought him back to reality, "Umm..."

"Yes?"

"Do you have the gloves?"

"Not yet; I'm just grabbing them. Why?" Aoba opened the door and looked up at Mizuki who looked somewhat uncomfortable, "Is there a problem with Clear?"

"Actually, yeah; he won't take his hands out of the sink, and it's starting to overflow..." Mizuki turned so that Aoba could see the situation. Sure enough, there stood Clear, his back turned to the two of them with his hands pressed in the little sink that was meant for hand-washing. Water was flowing out all over the floor, and by the way the white haired man's shoulders rose and fell, he was panicking.

"Clear!" Aoba hurried over to the source of the problem and held out the gloves, "Move your hands away from the drain, you're clogging the sink!"

With that Aoba could tell that Clear was blushing be the way that his whole body tensed, "You can see?!"

"No. I can't see your hands Clear." Aoba placed the gloves on Clear's shoulder's and pointed to the shelf above the sink so that Clear could see where he was pointing, "But the plug to the sink is on the shelf above your head..." 

"Oh..." Clear turned over his shoulder, "Would you please turn around?"

Aoba nodded, and as he turned around, he heard the familiar squeaking sound of the faucet turning off. He then heard the sound of water flowing down the drain when he realized that it would be a good idea to go for the mop. With his back still to the other, he rushed to the back room, nearly falling as he slid across the now wet floor. He inched past Mizuki, who still stood in the doorway, watching the whole ordeal. Grabbing the mop, he tapped Mizuki on the shoulder, "Get back to your station, lazy."

Mizuki flashed Aoba a toothy grin as he playfully tugged at his blue ponytail, "Not until you fix your hair; it'll get in my food like that."

"Fine, have it your way." Aoba sneered jokingly as he simultaneously tucked his mass of blue hair underneath his hat and made his way over to Clear who stood at attention, as if he was waiting for instructions.

By that time; it was 5:30, Clear had been there for half an hour, the kitchen had been half flooded, and the only thing Aoba had taught him about the kitchen was that he needed to have clean hands. Aoba realized that training this newbie was probably going the be the most challenging thing that he had done in his life. The stress was only just starting to build as he began to mop up the mess that Clear had made, only to be stopped by the man himself who gripped the mop with unexpected strength.

"Aoba-san, please let me take care of it. It is my fault after-all."

"Well, I'm not gonna fight you on that one." Aoba smiled as he handed over the mop. _Maybe this won't be that bad,_ He thought as he headed over to the little sink and rewashed his hands, remembering that he had just previously touched his hair. If there was one thing that he disliked about the kitchen, it would have to be all of the hand washing. At first, he found it to be excessive, but at that time, he was twelve and cleanliness wasn't his top priority. Now however, he had gotten to the point where he could accept it. People ate off of the plates he washed, the forks he polished went into other people's mouths, and they didn't want to eat his germs. Then again, neither did he.

"Aoba-san?"

"Hmm?" Aoba looked over his shoulder at the man with the mop. He blinked once, twice before realizing that the man had already finished mopping up.

"What do I do now that I've finished?"

Mizuki, being the inadvertent life-saver he was, spoke up before Aoba even had a chance to be impressed at Clear's impressive speed, "Give him a hat! His hair's gonna get in my food!"

"Right..." Aoba mouthed as he looked up at the ceiling, trying to remember where they kept the hats. All kitchen staff of Heibon were required to wear these navy blue hats. Apparently, it helped keep everyone's hair out of the food, "Come with me." He said to Clear as he led them to the back room. He figured that if the hats weren't there, it would still be an opportunity to show him the storage area. He switched on the light as he shut the door behind them. Aoba allowed Clear to take in the sight of the storage room before he started with his explanation, "So," He rubbed his hands together, "This is like the storage area. There isn't actually any food here; it's more like a storage closet." He walked over to the shelf on the left; Clear followed, "This shelf has all of the cleaning supplies, y'know, rags and stuff. Mop goes in the bucket in the corner." Aoba looked over his shoulder to see if Clear was following him any, "Understand?" Clear nodded, and Aoba decided to go over to the right side of the room to see if he could find the hats. Luckily, they were in a cardboard box that was on a shelf within his reach; Aoba grabbed one and turned to Clear, "Here," he tossed the hat, "Wear this; if you don't, Mizuki will flip out. He has this weird thing about hair..." 

"Alright." Clear grabbed the hat and put it on his head. Aoba couldn't help but chuckle at the sight. The man's hair was quite poofy, so what wasn't under the hat stuck out; it looked pretty funny.

"Is there a problem with the hat?"

Aoba dismissed Clear's question with a wave of his hand, "No, everything's fine!" He couldn't stop smiling at the sight, and he took it as an opportunity to study Clear's appearance further. The colors of his clothes were the same as yesterday's, but instead of cargo pants, he wore some kind of canvas material, and his shirt was just a plain white T-shirt. He looked down at his feet; today, he was wearing a pair of black kitchen-issue crocs. The only reason why Aoba actually knew what those were was because Haga also wore them. According to him, they were comfortable, but Aoba preferred his sneakers. He glanced up to look at Clear's shirt again, and upon a second look, he realized how old it was. He saw a stain on the bottom left that looked like it could have been from coffee, and there was a small tear in the right sleeve.  _Well, that shirt's definitely on it's last limbs..._ The more Aoba looked at the man's shirt, the more he noticed that his shoulders were broad, and that his arms were strong enough to probably carry the bulk sacks of flour and potatoes from the pantry with ease. _Good, less work for me I guess._

"Umm..." Clear's voice made Aoba remember where he was, and what he was supposed to be doing, "Are you sure there isn't a problem?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you were staring at me, and it is sort of making me uncomfortable..."

Aoba blushed, suddenly realizing that he had in fact just been _staring_ at Clear for a good fifteen seconds, "Sorry. I was just wondering is you wanted an apron. I mean." He scratched at the nape of his neck, "They're not mandatory, but it is a good idea."

"If it isn't a problem-"

"Of course it isn't a problem!" Aoba turned around and grabbed one of the aprons that was hanging on the end of the shelf, "It's all part of the job description, and also," He handed the apron to Clear, who began to put it on, "Cut it out with the polite speech, we're on the same level here." 

"I'm afraid I can't"

Aoba headed over to the door; he responded ad he pushed it open, "And why is that?"

"It really is the only way I know how to talk to others Aoba-san." Clear followed the other as he made his way back to the kitchen.

Aoba stopped dead in his tracks and turned to face Clear, "You're not serious, are you?"

"I am."

"Alright then," Aoba shrugged, "Whatever floats your boat." With that; the conversation ended as he showed Clear the rest of the kitchen. _The more I talk to this guy, the weirder he gets_. By the time Aoba finished showing Clear the kitchen, it was 5:55AM; Aoba was more tired out than he thought he would be, and the thumping in his heart certainly wasn't helping. _Seriously,_ he thought, _What is with this guy?_     

 

 


	2. Accidents can Lead to Answers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virus gets burnt, Clear takes things to literally, and Aoba wants to learn more about him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't think there's any new lingo in this chapter, but just in case if anyone's super curious, the dish washing method they use is something called the three sink system which is basically, spray, wipe, sanitize. That's why different components of the sink are mentioned.
> 
> On that note...

Currently, it was 3:30 am on a Thursday morning, and the last thing Aoba wanted to do was get ready for work on his day off. However, because of a certain white-haired someone who couldn't do anything but dishes due to the fact that he refused to show anyone his hands, Aoba had to show up and help Mizuki out. If Haga was still in town, he could have spent his one day off catching up on some much needed sleep. He tried not to dwell on this as he sat at alone at the kitchen table at his home drinking his second cup of coffee. This cup, like his first most likely had a higher concentration of sugar than it did coffee, which he liked to think gave him double the energy. He sat like this, his right arm draped over the back of the chair, haphazardly checking his phone and tapping his left foot slowly against the tiled floor when his older twin, Sei came down the stairs. Aoba tilted his head towards his brother, "What are you doing up at this hour?"

Sei said nothing as he sat down in the chair next to Aoba, "What're _you_ doing up at this hour?"

Aoba put his phone on the table, "Work."

Sei attempted to raise an eyebrow, but it looked more like he scrunched up the right side of his face instead, "It's Thursday..."

"Please don't remind me." Aoba stood up from the table only to refill his coffee cup. As he stirred in the sugar, he asked Sei again, "Seriously though, why _are_ you awake?"

Aoba's brother rubbed his eyes as he answered, "You woke me up."

Aoba successfully raised an eyebrow at Sei, "How so?"

"You're normally asleep at this time on Thursdays." Sei, twiddled his thumbs, "I guess I wasn't expecting to hear you up and about, so I thought something was up."

"That's good I guess." Aoba said as he sat back at the table, "Thought you were sick or something."

Sei placed his head in his palm and rubbed his forehead between his thumb and forefingers, "I get a bad flu once and now everybody thinks I'm some sort of sickness magnet..."

 _Shit, he's gonna start ranting again, isn't he,_ Aoba shot up from the table, nearly spilling his sugar coffee, "Would you look at the time!" He grabbed his bag from the floor, "I'm gonna be late and you should go back to bed!" Aoba nearly tripped over his feet as he ran out of the kitchen, put on his sneakers and rushed out the door.

Sei blinked twice before going back upstairs, silently praying that their grandmother hadn't heard them.

 

__________

 

"Oh, Aoba-san's here today!" Virus, head of the waitstaff looked pleasantly surprised when he strode through the door at 6:05.

"And you're fashionably late, as usual." Aoba responded, not looking up from the potato he was peeling.

"You think I'm fashionable?" Virus smirked as he washed his hands, "That's sweet."

"Actually," Aoba put the newly peeled potato in a giant plastic bin with all the other potatoes he had peeled before putting the knife on the cutting board, "I think you're quite tacky."

Mizuki's voice could be heard from behind the stove, "Oh, Burn!"

Clear, who had apparently been listening the whole time looked up from the pot he was scrubbing, "Mizuki-san, do you require first-aid?"

Mizuki held back a laugh, "No, Virus does, he just got burned."

Clear turned his gaze over to the head waiter who still stood in front of the handwashing sink, "Virus-san, do you require first-aid?"

Virus blinked twice at Clear's sunglasses before responding, "No thank-you Clear-san, I'm pretty sure I'll be fine."

"Well, alright then," Aoba stifled a laugh as Clear continued, "but I do recommend that you wash your hands at a lower temperature next time in order to prevent further injury."

Virus snickered as he walked over to Clear, "Clear-san," Virus patted the white haired man on the back, "You're quite the comedian."

Clear cocked his head to the left, "What about me do you find amusing Virus-san?"

"You're...Well," Virus rubbed his chin, trying to come up with a word to describe Clear, "You're honest..."

"How is my honesty-"

Aoba spoke up, doing what he thought was a favor for Clear, "Don't question Virus; his sense of humor is messed up." He strode over to Clear and put the knife on the tray next to the sink. He looked at Virus, "Don't you have coffee you should be making?"

Virus looked at his watch, "How kind of you Aoba-san to keep me in check. What would I ever do without you?"

Aoba answered with a mutter, "Not bother me..."

Virus had either not heard him, or chose to ignore him if he did because soon, he was out of the kitchen and the sound of the coffee grinder could be heard from the front of the house.

Clear looked down at Aoba, "Does Aoba-san not like Virus-san?"

Aoba looked up at Clear and focused on his surgeons mask, "It's not a matter of like or dislike, it's more like he can just be really creepy at times."

Aoba watched the mask move as Clear spoke, "I see. I was just wondering because it seems that Virus-san really likes you." Aoba thought that Clear sounded slightly pleased to know that he thought Virus was creepy. _Why does he care?_

"Yeah..." Aoba crossed his arms, "Sometimes I wish he didn't." Looking for a segue to change the subject, he peered into the dishwater; it looked murkier than it should have, "Are you spraying the dishes before putting them in here?" He pointed to the middle section of the sink.

Clear chuckled nervously, "Well...You see Aoba-san-"

"You know you can't cut corners with this job." Aoba scolded Clear and the other waved his hands in defense, spraying water everywhere in the process.

"Aoba-san! I can assure you that I wasn't cutting any corners! I swear!"

With his sleeve, Aoba wiped the water off his face, "Then why aren't you spraying them?" He shuffled over to the first section of the sink and grabbed the nozzle, "I mean, it isn't that difficult to use. You just pull the handle and...eh?" Aoba pulled in the handle, but no water came out, "Did you forget how to turn it on?"Clear gave a sheepish nod. Aoba couldn't help but smile at the man's display of innocence, in a way, it reminded him of a puppy.

"I apologize-"

"It's alright, you don't have to be sorry, it's only your second day." Aoba reached over and turned the knob that sat in the middle of the two used to control the temperature, "This," he said as he turned the knob. He then squeezed the handle of the sprayer; this time, water burst out, spattering against the empty basin, "Here." He handed the nozzle to Clear, "You try."

"Okay." Clear sounded less nervous than he had a minute ago, which made Aoba feel a bit better about his training abilities. Much to his disdain however, Clear decided to aim the nozzle straight at the wall instead of in the sink. Droplets of water ricocheted everywhere, drenching both men from their heads to their chests. Upon realizing what he had done, Clear dropped the nozzle and it swung back and forth, clinking against the sides of the sink, "Aoba-san I'm so sorry!"

Before Aoba could even respond, Clear was on the ground furiously banging his head against the ground, repeating the words, "I'm terribly sorry!" as if it were some sort of mantra. Aoba knelt down in front of the panicking man before him; he placed both of his hands firmly on Clear's shoulders as he spoke, "It's alright Clear." Clear stopped and looked up; Aoba began to rub his back reassuringly, "It's only an accident. Luckily most of the water got on us, so it won't be that hard to get cleaned up."

Clear sat on his knees, and Aoba felt Clear's eyes staring into his own from behind the sunglasses, "You're not cross with me? You don't hate me?"

"Well," Aoba scratched the nape of his neck, "I can't say I'm not a little irritated, but this isn't something to hate someone over." He stood up, offering a hand to Clear, "It's actually kind of funny in a way."

Clear took the hand offered to him as he got up off the floor, "I'm so relieved to hear that!"

Aoba felt his cheeks growing warm from the Clear's jovial response, he turned the other way so that the other couldn't see, "Yeah... We should probably clean this up, and then dry off somewhere."

Clear clasped his hands together and nodded in agreement, "I can go get some rags if you'd like."

"Do you remember where they are?"

The white-haired man nodded, "Back room, to the left, third shelf, right next to the-"

Aoba forcefully turned Clear around and nudged him in the direction of the storage room, "Just go get the rags."

"Certainly." Clear answered, and Aoba watched as he disappeared into the back room.

As soon as Clear had went behind the door, Aoba could hear Mizuki laughing from behind the counter, "Wow, that new guy's a riot!" Mizuki banged his fist against the counter, "He can't be that sincere, can he?"

Still standing in the same position, Aoba answered, "I don't think 'riot' is a good way of putting it."

"Oh really then? How would you put it?"

"He's just... unique..." Aoba mentally questioned his own description of the man who had just re-emerged from the back room with a handful of rags.

"Aoba-san, were you waiting a long time?" Clear strode over to Aoba, ignoring Mizuki's attempt to greet him.

"No," Aoba took a rag from Clear, "You were only gone for like 30 seconds." He knelt on the ground and began to wipe up the water on the tiles, "Clear, can you get the wall please?"

"Yes." Clear stood over Aoba as he began to wipe the water off of the wall. Once he had dried the wall, he went on the dry the shelf above the sink, wiping down the bottles of soap and whatnot that lived there.

Once everything was dry, Aoba leaned against the sink, his wet hair clinging to his face. Clear joined him in this, twiddling his thumbs; the wet rubber caused his them to squeak as he brushed them against each other. Clear's hair, just as wet as Aoba's, clung to the side of his head in a similar fashion. "Hmmm," Aoba mused to himself, "We still have forty-five minutes until we open," He pushed himself off of the sink, "Wanna go outside and dry off?"

"We'd be allowed to do that?"

Aoba nodded, "Besides, there's only a few prep dishes left," Aoba gestured to the remaining dishes and it's not like Mizuki needs eight sheet pans, or this giant bowl anyway." 

"How would you know!?" Mizuki called from his station, "What if all the bacon goes missing and I have to restart?"

"Then you can wash the pans yourself; you're not _that_ stupid!" Aoba took hold of Clear's arm, and smirked at the cook, "We're gonna go outside, and there's _nothing_ you can do to stop us!"

"Whatever," Mizuki joked, "See if I care." Once Aoba and Clear were outside, Mizuki opened the refrigerated component of the counter and took out a case of eggs.

Once outside, Aoba sat on the stoop he normally did when he was on break. Since he new, Clear didn't have a special stoop or anything of that manner to sit on. Instead, he chose to lean against the door. They stayed total silence for a minute until Aoba patted his hand on the space next to him, "You don't have to stand there you know."

Clear bowed his head slightly as he moved to sit next to Aoba, "Thank you very much."

"It's fine, you don't have to thank me every time I speak to you." Aoba started to bounce his left leg up and down, "Not like I'm super important or anything."

"But Aoba-san's very important!" Aoba didn't need to see Clear's eyes to tell that he was being directly stared at, "You're very kind and have been very patient with me. Also," He lifted his index finger up at Aoba, "Haga told me that Aoba-san is the number one float on the whole island!" When Clear said "whole island," he spread his arms out for emphasis.

Aoba laughed when Clear's arm almost hit him in the chest. He replied modestly to Clear's remark, "I don't think that makes me important Clear. It's more like I'm good at being very unsuccessful."

"Unsuccessful?"

"Yeah, I mean, look at me. I'm a single, 23 year old, middle school dropout who's been working the same dead-end job for _eleven years_. I work six days a week, don't really have any hobbies outside of work, and don't really plan on doing anything about it." Aoba stretched his arms above his head, "On top of it all, I'm soaking wet, and the way my shirt is sticking to my skin is kind of uncomfortable."

"That doesn't necessarily make you unsuccessful." Clear clasped his hands together and let them fall between his legs, "I mean, are you happy with yourself, Aoba-san?"

"Yeah, I guess-"

"Then you're successful in that way, no?"

"Yeah, but if you compare me to my brother, I'm a total loser, I mean-"

"Aoba-san," Clear put his hand on Aoba's knee and inched his face closer. Aoba could feel his face growing hot as the other man leaned in closer; he had no idea what was going through Clear's mind until he finally spoke after five seconds, "You have a brother?"

 _What? Of all the things he could have said at a time like this... This guy really is something else,_ "Yeah, a twin, name's Sei; he's older, smarter, more attractive, talented, all that jazz." Aoba looked down at his feet as Clear leaned back into his original position, "I'm no match for him..."

"Match? Do you two fight a lot?"

"No, not like that! I mean that if you compare us, he's the superior one." Aoba removed his hat and scratched his temples, "Geez, how literally do you take things?"

"What do you mean?"

"Earlier, when I burned Virus, you asked if he needed first-aid, and-"

Clear scooted away from Aoba until he was at the far edge of the stoop, "How did you manage to burn Virus from halfway across the room? Does Aoba-san have super powers?"

Aoba blinked in response several times before speaking, "Do you even know what a burn is?"

Clear, still at the edge of the stoop, nodded, "Yes, they are quite painful."

Aoba shook his head, "Not that type of burn, the other type."

"There's another type of burn?"

"Yeah, like if someone says something to another person that's kind of witty and makes them shut-up, it can be called a burn. It's like an insult."

"I see..." Clear moved back closer to Aoba, "So you don't have super powers?"

Aoba shook his head, "Not that I know of." He leaned in closer to Clear, squinting his eyes, "Do you?"

Clear vigorously shook his head, "What would make you think that?"

"Well," Aoba bit his lower lip and gave Clear a once over, "You dress like someone trying to hide your identity." He looked at the rubber gloves on Clear's hands. At the moment, they were up in front of his face, trying to hide what was already hidden. Aoba flopped back to where he was and continued to speak, "For all I know you could be some super-hero with a secret identity, y'know? Like ' _Dish Bitch in training by day, Enforcer of Vigilante_ _Justice by night!_ " 

"I don't feel as though that is an accurate depiction of me, Aoba-san."

"Well then, what is?"

"What is what?"

Aoba looked up at the early morning sky, "I'm asking you how you would describe yourself."

"Oh..." Clear looked up to the sky with Aoba, "I was home-schooled, so I don't really have any friends other than my brothers and my grandfather. I like things that are fluffy and cute. My favorite animals, although I've never actually seen one in person, are jellyfish." He tapped his finger against his chin, "Yellow is my favorite color, and-" Before Clear could even go into his long list of hobbies, Aoba had impulsively wrapped his arms around the other man's torso. This was because the only thing he had really heard was "I don't have any friends other than my brothers and my grandfather." Clear, having no idea what was going on, placed his hands on Aoba's back in an attempt to return the hug, "Aoba-san, is there a problem?"

"I'll be your friend..." Aoba mumbled, and Clear could barely hear him.

"You'll be my what?"

"Friend. Clear, I'll be your friend." Aoba lifted his head and softened his grip, "That is, if you'd let me."

Clear, too shocked at Aoba's proposition, started to cry. His sniffles were muffled by his mask as he spoke, "Aoba-san wants to be  _my_ friend?"

Aoba let go of Clear and looked him in the face, "Yes Clear, I _want_ to be _your_ friend."

"Why?"

"Because I think you're interesting." It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the full truth either. Aoba knew he couldn't say the truth, not yet at least.

Clear grabbed Aoba's hand, "Aoba-san, you're my first friend; I won't forget this moment as long as I live."

Aoba felt the blush creeping back on his cheeks as he averted his eyes. No one had ever spoken to him that way, and even if the meaning was platonic, he couldn't help but feeling flustered. Realizing that he was now dry, he moved his gaze back to the man who seemed to be staring at him, "I think it's about time we head back, Mizuki is probably lonely without us."

Clear nodded as he stood, "Alright," He offered Aoba a hand, "Let's head back." With that, the pair headed back to the kitchen.

 

__________

 

That night, Aoba lay on his bed contemplating the events from that morning. Him and Clear had become friends within two days of knowing each other. Normally, it took him twice that long to even consider being friends with someone. Sure, he was the type of person who was friendly to everyone, but that actually made it all the harder for him to make friends. Aoba rolled onto his side and began to pet his dog as he remembered how Clear had told him that he hadn't any friends that weren't in his family until today. "Isn't it strange Ren?" Aoba asked his dog as he scratched the spot behind his ears, "Even if he was home-schooled, didn't he ever go to the park or something like that?" Ren panted and nuzzled his head against Aoba's hand in response. "But I also guess that explains why he has a hard time interacting with other people." Ren started to lick his owner's palm, Aoba giggled, "Ren, stop it! That tickles!" Ren, mistaking Aoba's laughing fit as a sign of wanting to play, lept onto Aoba's stomach and began to lick his face, "Waah! Ren!" Aoba put his arms up in a half-hearted defense as Ren playfully attacked his face. This went on for about five minutes until Ren had tired himself out and curled up into a ball on Aoba's stomach and fallen asleep. Lazily, Aoba pet his dog as he slept, his mind not wasting any time producing thoughts about what had very recently become his biggest obsession _What was underneath Clear's mask?_

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much everyone that's reading this! I'm suuuuuuppppeeerrrr duuuupppeeerr happy that people actually like this! ^_^ *is literally freaking out (in a good way)*  
> sooooooooooooooooooooooo  
> Until next time.....


	3. Is it Bothersome?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If Clear has a problem, yo Aoba will solve it! Check out Aobooty's house while the bishounen drink coffee!  
> (Totally did not take that from Ice Ice baby....... O_o)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a couple days since last chapter...not 'cuz I'm lazy, but 'cause school just started and orientation weekend be like, "Errbody play 'dem games!" also, I had no internet for like the whole weekend. So all the other chapters will probably begin to have a few days gap between them now too. The only other thing I really wanna say is that this chapter has lotsa Clear being sad, but also lotsa happy Clear, and that the almighty douche makes his debut.

The past couple of days passed more smoothly than Clear had expected. He had picked up the art of dishwashing quickly, and his skill had earned him a good relationship with his coworkers. However, to him, the best part of his job was Aoba. Along with being his first friend, Clear’s bluenette co-worker was just the most beautiful person he has ever seen. The moment, he had laid eyes on Aoba, Clear instantly became overwhelmed with the desire to make the man his own. Clear wanted to monopolize Aoba, but he didn’t have the confidence to do it. The worst part was that he was aware of his lack of self-confidence; his mask and the thick sunglasses only reminded him of this as he put them on in the morning. The reason why he wore them was simple: no one had ever told him that he was beautiful, so he had just assumed that he was ugly. This was because other than being terribly polite, Clear had a bad habit of jumping to conclusions.

On this particular day, the first Monday of his new job, Clear’s self-confidence was especially low due to the conversation that he had had the previous night with his father:

_Clear,” His father had said, “How are you liking the new job?”_

_Clear was in the process of refilling his father’s glass as he had answered, addressing his father in the way he had been conditioned to do so, “Yes Mr. Tatsuo, I am finding this job to be quite enjoyable.”_

_“And you coworkers,” Mr. Tatsuo took a drink from his glass before he had continued, “How do you find them?”_

_Clear was standing behind his father’s armchair, resting his gloved hand on the back as he had answered, “Quite enjoyable as well, Mr. Tatsuo.”_

_Clear’s father had placed his glass on the table before he asked his final question, “They don’t mind it when you cover your face?”_

_Before he responded, Clear had clenched his fingers around the back of the chair so that the leather squeaked in his grip, “I do not know sir, what my co-workers think of me.” After which, he moved to face his father; he had bowed as he spoke, “Now, if you excuse me, I shall retire to my room.”_

Clear mulled over this conversation in his mind as he walked over to Heibon. _What do my coworkers really think of me? We get along, but the only one I’d consider my friend is Aoba. Does he think it’s strange that I cover my face? He hasn’t really said anything to me about it. At the very least, he seems to respect it. But what if he doesn’t say anything about it because he is afraid of hurting my feelings. He said I was interesting, but can’t that statement be good or bad?_ He had thought himself into a pit by the time he had reached the employee entrance of Heibon. When Clear reached for the door, his hand was trembling, but before he could turn the handle, it moved on its own, leaving him face to face with the pit of his current insecurity: Aoba.

Aoba, surprised by what for him was a sudden appearance, flashed Clear a tired smile, “Hey.”

“Oh! Aoba-san…” Clear ducked his head head in order to avoid the blue-haired man’s gaze; he stared at his rubber shoes while he mumbled a response, “Good Morning…”

Aoba moved aside so that Clear could trudge through the entrance, dragging his feet against the concrete, “You seem a bit down today, is something bothering you?”

“Not really… Just tired is all.” Clear retreaded into the kitchen before the other could even react.

For the entire morning, Clear ended all of Aoba’s attempts at conversation with a series of nods, “mhms”, and “Uh-huhs”. By noon, Clear could tell that Aoba knew that something was up; he could see it in Aoba’s eyes when he looked at him. Earlier in the day, it had been a look of sympathy as Aoba knew what it was like to work past the point of being able to feel tired. However, the glances Aoba shot him were now those of concern.

Clear knew that when the day started to wind down, Aoba would pull him outside, sit him down on the stoop, and confront him. It had never happened before, but the white-haired man could tell that it was going to happen.

He was in the process of washing silverware when Aoba finally grabbed his shoulder, “Clear, I think it’s time we take a break. Let’s go outside.” It was more of a command than a suggestion.

“I’m quite alright Aoba-san, I don’t think that I need a break.”

Completely ignoring what Clear said, Aoba called over to Mizuki, “Mizu, we’re gonna step outside for a moment, okay?”

“Sure thing, I’ll call you if I need anything.”

Aoba thanked him as he ushered Clear away from the sink and towards the exit. Once outside, Aoba sat down on the stoop, pulling Clear down with him, “Something is bothering you. I don’t know what it is exactly, but you don’t have to be afraid to tell me,” Clear blushed from underneath his mask as Aoba looked straight at his face, “We’re friends, you’re supposed to bother me about stuff like this.”

Clear, having no idea how to respond, did what he should have done when he first saw him at the door, “Do you think that this,” He gestured to his mask and sunglasses, “is weird?”

“Well,” Aoba tapped his index finger against the bridge of his nose several times, “I did at first, but now I don’t. I mean, it’s who you are, and you’re a grown man, right?” Clear nodded, and Aoba continued, “So it’s not up to me to tell you what you can or can’t wear. Also, those glasses are prescription, so it’s not like you can do anything about those.”

“But I could just wear normal glasses.” Clear looked down at the ground and tapped his feet together.

“But that would be boring.”

“Boring?”

“Yeah,” Aoba looked at his feet and began to tap his feet together as well, “The way you are now, you have like a look goin’ on y’know?”

“Yeah, I guess.” Clear looked over at Aoba, who was still looking at his shoes, “But what’s so important about that?”

“It’s part of your personality; having your own sense of style is something you need! Also,” Clear could tell that Aoba was blushing by the way he turned his face the other way as he finished, “I think your style is pretty cool.”

“Aoba-san thinks I’m cool!” Clear almost jumped from the stoop with joy as Aoba’s blushing face turned to face him.

“So what if I do?”

“It’s just that I’m glad you think that!” Clear smiled from underneath his mask.

“Well I’m glad that you’re glad.” Aoba sheepishly patted Clear on the back.

“Aoba-san!” Clear squirmed in his seat, “That’s embarrassing!”

“It’s not embarrassing if I mean it platonically!” Aoba laughed as he spoke.

“Does that mean that it is okay for me to platonically say that Aoba-san has a cute laugh?”

As if it were on cue, Aoba stopped laughing and Clear started as he watched the other’s face turn bright red with blush. Clear felt a smack against the back of his head as Aoba spoke, “No! _That’s_ embarrassing Clear!”

“But-“ Clear cut himself off with his own laughter, “It’s funny, because now Aoba-san’s face looks like a tomato!”

“Does not!” Aoba his face in his hands, “Those glasses make all of the colors wrong!”

Clear pouted, “They do not; they only tint things slightly.”

“Still!”

Clear stared at Aoba as his blue-haired co-worker peered at him from between his fingers, “What’s so embarrassing about being cute?”

In response, Aoba pointed to himself as he explained to Clear that he was a grown man and that grown men aren’t supposed to be cute. Clear would have been paying attention if he hadn’t been thinking about how cute Aoba looked at that very moment. Lost in his own thoughts, he didn’t even realize that Aoba was standing by the time he finished talking.

“We should go back inside.” Aoba’s face was still red as he spoke.

Clear stood up as he nodded in response. With that, the two headed back into the kitchen, and Clear, although no one could see it, was smiling the kind of smile that only a person in love could make.

 

__________

 

After work that day, Clear, despite Aoba’s reassuring words, did not feel like going home, so he wondered around the streets of Midorijima. He stared at his shoes as he walked, and he thought about how Aoba wore blue sneakers to work, and then he thought about how he had actually never owned a pair himself. His brothers had sneakers, but his brothers had went to normal school, to college, and they didn’t work minimum wage at an all-day breakfast place. They also had been fortunate enough to move out of the house as quickly as possible, Clear hadn’t been as lucky because he wouldn’t speak more than three words to anybody for the first eight years of his life. It wasn’t that he didn’t know any other words; it was just that he didn’t know how to use them. If he liked someone, he would simply say, “I like you,” and if he didn’t like someone, he would refuse to talk to them. Because of this, his father kept him at home and pushed the responsibility of raising him to his grandfather. From the very start, Clear had loved his grandfather; he was kind and took very good care of him. He was a marine biologist, so most of Clear’s knowledge revolved around what was in the ocean; he loved the ocean, almost as much as his grandfather did.

As Clear turned left into an alleyway, he began to think about jellyfish, and about how some kinds were capable of killing people. He then thought that it would be kind of embarrassing to be killed by a jellyfish; _they’re so cute, it would be like being mauled to death by a puppy. If I were stung to death by a jellyfish, someone would surely laugh. I know that I would probably laugh if I heard that someone died from a jellyfish._ Clear started to chuckle at the notion of death by jellyfish when he stumbled across something he probably shouldn’t have. By this point he had emerged from the alley into a residential district. He looked up at a nondescript house that looked like all the other ones, and as he looked to the veranda, he saw a familiar figure standing there, looking up at the late afternoon sky. Doing something that he never would have done two weeks ago, he called out to the figure, “AOBA-SAN!!!”

Clear smiled as Aoba looked over in his direction and called from the veranda, “CLEAR!” He motioned his arm, signaling Clear to come over.

Clear nearly knocked over a bicyclist as he darted across the street towards Aoba’s house. He stood on the ground below Aoba. He stared up at Aoba who told him to wait where he was before he disappeared into the house. Clear stood outside for fifteen seconds or so before Aoba came out the front door and stood before him.

“Wanna come inside?” Aoba gave a tired smile and motioned to his front door which was barely visible from where the two were standing.

Clear nodded, “If you wouldn’t mind.”

“How many times do I have to tell you, I don’t mind,” He playfully smacked the back of Clear’s head, “I’m the one asking, silly!”

Clear rubbed the back of his head as he followed Aoba inside. Once inside, Clear looked around the entranceway, from where he stood, he thought he could see the entrance to a kitchen on his left, a living room on his right, and a stairway about ten feet in front of him. He carefully slipped off his shoes and put them a safe distance from where all the other shoes were, the only familiar pair being Aoba’s sneakers. Out of habit, Clear made a polite comment, “Aoba-san has such a nice house.”

“Oh please,” Aoba denied the compliment with a flick of his wrist, “It looks like every other stinking house in this neighborhood. Also,” he stepped out of the entranceway, “It isn’t mine.”

Clear, still looking around, moved to stand next to Aoba, “May I ask who’s house this is?”

“My grandmother’s.” Aoba hummed as he led Clear to the room on to the left. It was a kitchen, just as Clear had thought. Aoba pointed to a stool by the counter, “You can sit if you want.”

“No thanks, I’m fine.”

“You sure? I mean,” Aoba walked over to a cupboard and pulled out two mugs as he continued, “We have been on our feet all day.” He started to prepare some coffee as he looked at Clear from over his shoulders, “And from the looks of it, you haven’t been home yet.”

Clear couldn’t deny that statement as he was still wearing the same grey T-shirt and black pants that he had been wearing earlier in the day. The only things he had changed out of were the rubber gloves and the apron that didn’t belong to him. While Clear was thinking about how he looked, he focused on Aoba and studied his appearance. He had changed out of his work clothes and had very obviously taken a shower. His hair was still wet, and he had a towel around the back of his neck. He was wearing a long-sleeved navy shirt that clung to his frame in such a way that Clear felt himself blushing as he looked at him. He was wearing light grey sweatpants, which, like his shirt, clung to him in a way that made Clear feel awkward looking at him. In order to keep his mind in check, he looked down at Aoba’s feet. As soon as he laid is eyes on the yellow socks that had little bananas printed on them, Clear giggled.

“What’s so funny?” Aoba turned to look at Clear.

Through his giggling fit Clear managed to voice the source of his amusement, “Aoba-san says that he isn’t cute, but he wears such adorable things!”

Clear tried to control his laughter as Aoba blushed and turned to face the coffee pot and muttered, “Cream and sugar?”

For some reason, Clear found this to be hilarious and he nearly fell on the floor, “Just cream!” He stabilized himself on the countertop before deciding to sit on one of the stools.

Aoba said nothing as he poured coffee into both of the mugs and then went over to the fridge to retrieve the cream. He poured cream in both mugs. _So Aoba-san likes his coffee like mine?_ Clear was thinking until he saw Aoba reach up to one of the cabinets and grab a small tin. He watched as Aoba spooned nearly half of the tin’s contents into one of cups, _okay, maybe not…_ Clear accepted the cup with a hidden smile as Aoba placed it in front of him on the counter. Clear watched Aoba as he leaned against the granite and lazily stirred his coffee.

They sat like that in silence for a moment before Clear decided to speak up, “So, Aoba-san likes sweet things?”

“I might…” Aoba glanced at Clear, “Do you?”

“A little bit I guess.” Clear stared at his coffee, waiting for Aoba to turn around so that he could pull his mask up so that he could drink it.

He sat like that for a moment before Aoba finally caught on, “It’s okay, I won’t look.”

Clear sighed internally as Aoba turned to look out the window above the kitchen sink, “Thank you,” The cooler air of the kitchen felt freezing against his mouth as he lifted his mask just above his mouth. He lifted the edge of the cup to his mouth and took a sip, “It’s amazing!” He was being completely honest, as the coffee was indeed delicious.

“At least someone likes my coffee.” Clear could hear the smile in Aoba’s voice.

“What do you mean by that Aoba-san?”

“My brother and my granny _hate_ my coffee.” Clear could hear Aoba sipping his coffee, “They say it’s _too strong_ , and that I shouldn’t make it that way if I’m just gonna put in sugar and cream anyway.”

Clear chuckled as Aoba spoke in a whiny voice when he voiced his family’s opinion on his coffee, “It’s alright Aoba-san, I like your coffee.” Clear drank from the mug again as he continued to listen to Aoba rant about coffee and his family.

“They just don’t understand my needs! I’m a working man who needs his caffeine. Sei should understand because he’s a student, but apparently that guy never gets sleepy. It’s kind of freaky.” Aoba drank from his mug before continuing, “And Granny’s retired, so she doesn’t really even need to drink coffee. But I bet when she did, she also made it like how I do. I mean, she was a nurse, and don’t nurses work like really crazy hours or some shit like that?”

“I don’t know Aoba-san,” Clear sipped at his coffee, “I’ve never met a nurse before.”

“Never-ever?” Aoba sounded shocked.

“No.”

“Haven’t you ever been to a hospital before?”

Clear, although Aoba couldn’t see him, shook his head as he spoke, “Not since the day I was born; no need to.”

“You totally have to be a super hero!” Aoba said as he went over to the sink and placed his cup in it; out of habit, he washed it and put it in the strainer, “You must cover your face because you have some sort of secret identity or something!”

Clear, finishing off his coffee, put his mask over his mouth, “Haven’t I told you that I’m not a super hero.” He went over to wash his cup, but Aoba took it from his hands and washed it himself.

“Guests don’t wash cups.”

Clear said nothing, and instead went back over to the stool and sat down again. He tapped his hands against the surface. As he tapped, he studied his surroundings. The room itself was pale yellow, and the floor was comprised of a mixture of off-white and navy tiles. The counter he was sitting at was a smooth slab of grey granite on top of a wood finish base. The sink was silver, and the counter it sat on was the same granite as the one he was sitting at. Behind him, to the left of the counter he was sitting at, Clear spotted a dining table and some chairs; they were made from the same wood finish as the base of both the counter tops. He then realized that all of the cupboards were made from the same material.

“You see something you like?” Clear turned to face Aoba, who was leaning to face him from the other side of the counter.

Clear nearly fell off the stool as he moved back away from Aoba, “Well,” He scratched the back of his neck, “I like the color.”

Clear felt himself relax as Aoba pulled back and started to casually lean against the counter once-again, “Wanna see the rest of the place?”

“You wouldn’t mind?”

“If you ask that one more time, then I might!” Aoba reached over and placed his fist on top of Clear’s head.

After Aoba pulled his hand back, Clear began to pet the spot where his fist had been, “Aoba-san!! So mean!”

“I am _not!”_ Was all Aoba had said before he grabbed Clear’s shoulder and practically dragged him to the entranceway, “Come on! Since you’re here, I might as well show you around!” Clear didn’t say anything as Aoba dragged him across the hall and into the other room, “This is the living room, there’s a T.V and stuff.” Clear attempted to get a look around before Aoba dragged him out of the room and up the stairs, as they passed some closed doors, Aoba pointed them out as, “Sei’s room, Granny’s lair, and bathroom.” Once they reached a door at the end of the hall, Aoba dragged them inside and sat down on the bed, bringing Clear down with him, “And my room!”

Once on the bed, Clear looked around the room. The walls were blue, the curtains were blue, the bedsheets were blue, even the carpet was blue! He looked around the room until he saw a small lump of fur curled up in the corner. From the way it rose and fell, Clear could tell that it was an animal of some sort, and just when he was about to ask Aoba what it was, Aoba called out to the lump, “Ren!”

Clear smiled as the little lump sprang to life and jumped up on the bed. Ren looked at Clear and sniffed his gloved hand for a little bit before jumping up onto his lap. Out of habit, Clear pet the dog and giggled like a little girl, “He’s so cute!”

Aoba smiled, “I thought you’d like him.” Clear looked over as the bluenette stretched his arms out above his head, flopped down on his back and opened his mouth, “So what brings you here?”

Clear began to play with Ren’s paws, “I was only wandering around; I don’t really go out that much.”

“Why is that?”

“I’m not very good with crowds…” Clear focused his attention on Ren as he began to rub behind the dog’s ears.

“I see.”

After that, neither of them said anything for a moment; to Clear, it seemed as though Aoba was thinking of something. After a few minutes, Clear’s suspicions were proven when Aoba spoke up, “Tomorrow’s a holiday right?” Clear nodded, “So Heibon’s closed,” Clear nodded again, “You have any plans?” Clear shook his head, but then felt his face grow red as Aoba asked another question, “Wanna go somewhere with me that day?”

If Aoba could have seen Clear’s face, he would have seen the world’s biggest grin as the white-haired man nodded and said, “If you wouldn’t mind taking me.”      

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AOBA'S SOCKS ARE ONE OF MY BIGGEST HEADCANONS!  
> Also, YAY!!! I'm so glad that people are enjoying this, seriously, I dance every time I think about it...  
> Thank you very much people who are enjoying this!


	4. First Dates and Jellyfish Sightings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clear has his first ever date, and Aoba learns about jellyfish and feelings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's lots of websites about jellyfish O_o apparently, they're like a type of plankton or something like that, and they have no brains, just like Aoba in this chapter...

They had planned to meet up in front of Heibon at ten, but because he was suffering from a bout of nervous excitement, Aoba had gotten there at 8. Luckily for him, Clear seemed to be suffering the same fate, and at 8:30, the white-haired man was approaching the front steps of the restaurant. Before greeting him, Aoba took a moment to study Clear's appearance. He was wearing a cream colored cardigan over a navy Oxford shirt with the top button undone. On his legs, he wore khakis a shade darker than his cardigan. An out of place yellow scarf was loosely wrapped around his neck that was the same color as his crocs. Much to his dismay however, Clear still wore the same mask and glasses, but this time, on his mask, a smile had been drawn on in permanent marker. His gaze lingered on the mask as he greeted Clear, "'Morning,"

Aoba felt the awkwardness in the other's response, "Good morning Aoba-san." After which, the two men said nothing as they stared at each other's shoes. It took a few minutes, but eventually, Clear began to scratch the back of his neck as he took the first step, "So Aoba-san, did you have anything planned for today?"

 Aoba chuckled as he pinched his cheek, "I did... But it doesn't open until 11 or so...and well, I wasn't planning on both of us being so early..."

 

 "I see," Clear tapped his chin in a way which made Aoba sure that he was thinking about something, "Has Aoba-san eaten yet?"

Aoba shook his head, "I don't usually eat breakfast."

"But breakfast is-"

 Aoba ran his fingers through his hair, tugging at the roots as he spoke, "I know, I know!"

 In response, Clear clasped his hands together, "Then it's settled. I'm going to buy Aoba-san breakfast!"

 Aoba blinked before staring at the man before him, "Clear, that's not nessi-"

 "Yes it is!" Aoba felt Clear grab his arm as he was whisked off down the street, trapped in the now determined Clear's iron grip. They headed off at a pace that was a little too fast for Aoba, so part of him was glad that he was being dragged along; the other part of him was blushing furiously. Neither of them said anything, Clear because he was too determined, and Aoba because he was at a loss for words. They kept up this pace until Clear eventually stopped in front of a place that looked a little high-end for breakfast. It was at least twice the size of Heibon, and unlike Aoba's workplace, this building was made of wood. However, like Heibon, it had a pale yellow exterior, but that was as far as the comparisons went. This place even had its own parking lot!

Flabbergasted by the overall grandeur of the place before him, Aoba stammered to find something to say, "Well...uh-I...umm...er-"

Clear chuckled as he answered all of Aoba's unasked questions, "I figured that Aoba-san would like a break from all the bacon; it may look a little rustic, but it's actually one of those fancy science food places." Aoba said nothing, still gawking at the entire situation as Clear continued, "Plus, I know the owner."

 The only thing that the currently stupefied man took in from his words were "Fancy science food," and "I know the owner." _What?!?!_ He turned to look at the man who had just given him more questions than answers, "Clear, what are you?"

 "I can assure you Aoba-san, that I am human." Clear took Aoba's hand, a gesture that unbeknownst to Aoba, made both of them blush furiously and their hearts pound, " Now come on, let me treat you," was all Aoba heard as the pair went inside.

 Once inside, Aoba discovered a whole new level of flabbergasted as his amber eyes widened to the size of satellite disks. It was just so, _pristine_. The walls were snow white, and they appeared to shine. The furniture was all hand crafted metal, some of the walls were lined with red and blue couches. Looking up, Aoba noticed that there were two floors, and from where he was standing, it looked pretty similar to the first level. After looking around for another thirty seconds, Aoba discovered three things, the first being the spiral staircase in the right hand corner leading to the upper floor, the second being that he and Clear were the only people in the building, the final thing that he discovered was that they were still holding hands. Slightly overwhelmed, he took his hand back as he spoke, "Umm... Where is everybody..."

"Probably at home."

 Aoba stepped back and started to wave his arms uncontrollably in confusion, "What?! Why would they be _home_ when it's pretty apparent that they have a _restaurant_ to be running!"

 Clear began to laugh at Aoba's display. Holding onto his sides in order to stabilize himself, he began to explain the situation, but before he could, a voice coming from the second level broke him off.

 "Clear! Is that you?"

 "Yep! I brought Aoba-san with me!"

 Aoba turned to look at the person Clear was talking to. From what Aoba could see, he had the same snowy hair and was about the same height, but other than that, he couldn't make out any more of the man's features.

 "Wait right there!" The man called out before disappearing behind the railing. Aoba could hear the sound of footsteps head in the direction of the staircase, and then he saw the man descend the stairs and stroll across the floor as if he owned the place. When he reached the two of them, he hugged Clear and said something that Aoba couldn't quite hear. The stranger then turned to Aoba and took his hand. Aoba blushed furiously as the man then took his hand and kissed it after which he stared at Aoba and said, "You must be Aoba-san, right?"

 Aoba nodded shyly, too embarrassed to say anything, he glanced at the man before him. He wore a white suit with a blue silk tie. His white hair was a tad bit shorter than Clear's, and it was gelled back. His skin was creamy, his eyes were reddish pink, and a mole, or was it a beauty mark, rested underneath his left eye. Aoba had to admit that he was handsome, but most of all, it looked like he belonged in the room, as if his style was inspired by the restaurant.

 The stranger, picking up on Aoba's mannerisms, decided that it was time to introduce himself, "My apologies for not introducing myself, my name is Alphonse, I am the owner of this restaurant," The man, Alphonse, put his arm around Clear's shoulder as he continued, "And this guy right here, is my baby brother."

 Aoba pointed at the pair, "B-brothers?"

 Clear nodded, freeing himself from his brother's hold as he spoke, "Didn't I mention that I knew the owner?"

 "Yeah, but-"

 Alphonse cut Aoba off as he began to usher the pair to the spiral staircase, "Come, I take it you're hungry."

 Aoba stammered to find words as he was forced up the stairs, Clear and Alphonse behind him. He still hadn't found anything to say as he and Clear were then led to a table that was already set. He watched as Clear, who seemed used to this arrangement, sat in one of the chairs. Still unsure of what to do, Aoba went to pull out a chair, but Alphonse beat him to it, "Please sit." Aoba did as he was asked and sat down.

 "Thank you very much," Aoba said as he placed his hands on top of the table.

 "It's not a problem," Alphonse replied, "Would either of you like a drink?"

 Clear politely declined, but out of habit, Aoba asked for coffee with lots of cream and sugar. Alphonse nodded as he went off to the stairs, leaving the pair alone. Once he was certain that Clear's brother was out of earshot, Aoba attacked him with an army of questions, "Where are we? What are we doing? Why does he know who I am? Why did he kiss me?! What is with you today?!"

 Seeing the way Clear's shoulders rose and fell, Aoba could tell that he might have come off as a little too harsh, "I'm so sorry Aoba-san! I just wanted to treat you to something nice to thank you for all you've done. If you're feeling uncomfortable, I can take you home!" Clear began to slide off his chair, but Aoba reached over the table and put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him from groveling on the floor.

 "It's fine, Clear. You don't have to be sorry." Aoba returned back to his normal position, "I'm just a little flustered is all." Aoba looked around the room, looking for something to talk about so that he could change the subject, "This place looks really fancy, is it expensive?"

 Clear nodded, "Most people have to reserve at least a month in advance."

 Shocked, Aoba blinked as he raised his eyebrows, "How did you manage to get us a table."

 "Who can say 'no' to their baby brother?" Aoba looked up at Alphonse, who had answered his question as he set down a cup of coffee and a small bowl of sugar lumps, "I wasn't quite sure how much sugar you like, so please feel free to help yourself."

 Aoba thanked him as he picked up the small bowl and dumped nearly half of its contents into his drink.

 Alphonse, having never seen such a sweet tooth before, chuckled as he watched Aoba season his coffee, "I take it that Aoba-san likes sweets. I'll keep that in mind." Alphonse looked at his brother, "You sure you don't want anything?" Clear nodded, earning what Aoba thought was a look of concern from his brother. "If you say so," Alphonse picked up the sugar container as he went back to the stairs, leaving the pair alone once again.

For the next thirty-five minutes or so, Aoba sipped on his coffee and listened to Clear tell stories about his brothers. He learned that Alphonse was 27, two years older than Clear, and that he had a twin brother, Alfalfa, who was working on becoming a neurosurgeon. He also learned that unlike Clear, they hadn't been homeschooled and grew up with their parents. Despite this however, Clear and his brothers were close, and they taught him things that his grandfather couldn't. They had begun to talk more about Clear's grandfather when Alphonse reappeared with a chef's coat on and a plate covered by a silver lid.

 "Sorry for the wait." Alphonse said as he placed the plate before Aoba, "I just invented this last night; you're the first to try it."

Aoba watched as the lid was removed from the plate. He stared at the dish before him and realized that the only thing he could recognize was the plate itself. Whatever it was, it was beautiful. It looked as if it were more of a sculpture than an edible thing. It was very colorful, which made him think that it was probably made of fruits or something like that. Upon further inspection, he realized that every color of the rainbow was present. He lifted his fork and tapped it against the side of the rainbow mystery, he pulled back with surprise as it jiggled on impact. He looked to Clear, who didn't seem phased by the wiggly jiggly rainbow thing. He then turned to Alphonse, who was smiling, and voiced his concerns, "What is it?"

 

"Fruit salad, remixed."

Aoba looked to the dish; how in the hell was this fruit salad? Out of a mixture of politeness and curiosity, Aoba broke off some of it with his fork and put it in his mouth, "Holy shit! It really is fruit salad!" Aoba took another bite, and as he ate, he came to the conclusion that it was the best thing he had ever tasted. It was sweet, oh so sweet, but it was also tart, "What's in this thing?"

Alphonse explained to the pair the entire process he took to make the fruit salad thing. Clear seemed to understand, but the only thing Aoba got out of it was strawberries, oranges, lemons, kiwis, blueberries, plums, blackberries, and he had a basic understanding of what a terrine was.

As he ate the terrine, he would look up occasional and look at Clear, who had taken up a conversation with his brother that Aoba couldn't quite understand. Both of them spoke so formally that It was confusing. _They're brothers_ , Aoba thought, _I would never speak like that with Sei_. The more he listened, the more he thought that Alphonse's formality was practiced, and that he could speak informally as well, while Clear's formality seemed habitual, as though it was the only was he spoke. In other words, it was part of Clear's nature to speak formally, which was why his way of speaking made it impossible to come off as condescending. Aoba also came to the conclusion that they were taking about "Clear's recent employment," meaning, his new job at Heibon.

As if it were on queue, Aoba finished his last bite when Clear and Alphonse were finishing their conversation. 

Aoba thanked Alphonse for the meal as Clear checked his watch, "9:50," he looked at Aoba, "Is that enough time?"

Aoba looked at Alphonse, "How far is this place from the train station?"

"About a twenty minute walk, why?"

"Aoba-san's going to take me on a train!" Clear seemed excited as he clasped his hands together.

Aoba raised a brow, "You've never been on a train before?"

Clear shook his head, "I've never had a need to."

Aoba smiled, part of him was glad to be the first person to take Clear on a train, "Well we better get going then," he pulled a pair of tickets out of his pocket, "We have a ten thirty train to catch!" He stood from the table, Clear did the same. Aoba then went to reach for the wallet in his pocket; he spoke to Alphonse, "Do I owe you anything?"

Alphonse dismissed Aoba's notion with a flick of the wrist, "Just show Clear a good time."

"Alright then," Aoba extended his hand, "It was nice to meet you."

Instead of shaking Aoba's hand, Alphonse repeated his earlier gesture, pressing his lips to the extended hand, "Likewise."

Aoba's already reddening face grew even redder as Clear grabbed his other hand, "I think that it's time for Aoba-san and I to take our leave." With that, Aoba turned to sheepishly wave at Alphonse as he was half dragged, half led out of the restaurant by what seemed to be a jealous Clear. Once outside, Aoba realized that he had no idea what direction the station was in, "Do you-"

"I have a general idea, yes." Clear tightened his grip on Aoba's hand and headed off to the right, in the direction of the train station. For the first half of the walk, neither of them said anything as Clear was focused on getting to their destination, while Aoba was trying to control the erratic thumping in his heart.  _Breathe in. Breath out. Control yourself, me. This isn't supposed to be happening. He's just making sure I don't get lost. Yeah, that's it, I'm not familiar with this route, he's holding my hand to make sure we don't get separated._

Aoba mulled over this explanation in his head about three times when the grip on his hand loosened. They were at at crosswalk, waiting for the little fluorescent man to appear, "Clear?" Aoba looked up at the man's sunglasses, "Is everything ok?"

"I'm terribly sorry Aoba-san," Clear looked down at his shoes, "I've been nothing but a Debbie downer this whole time..."

The man lit up; Aoba giggled as he crossed the street with a despondent Clear, "It's okay, it's impossible for you to be a mood killer when you put it like that." Halfway across the street, Aoba inched his hand closer to Clear's so that his knuckles brushed against the fabric of the other's gloves, hoping that he would take the hint, remove the barrier around he was hiding behind, and lace their fingers together. Much to Aoba's dismay, Clear decided that it was now the time to shove both of his hands into his pockets.

For the rest of the walk to the station, the pair decided unanimously that silently contemplating their feelings for one another was better than actual conversation. Once they were on the train however, the cloud of silence surrounding them was deafening, and Aoba was beginning to crave conversation. He looked at Clear, and his gaze settled on the mask with the mouth drawn on. Aoba gestured to his own face as he spoke, "What's with the?"

Clear looked at him and pointed at his own face, "I always look like this Aoba-san."

"Not that!" Aoba traced a smile over his mouth with his finger, "What's with the smile?"

"Oh this?" Clear pointed to the ink on his mask; Aoba nodded, "Well, I was feeling really happy this morning when I woke up because Aoba-san invited me out. So I decided that it would be a good idea to let You know how happy I am..." Clear looked down at his shoes and mumbled, "It's weird isn't it?"

Aoba patted Clear on the back, "Not at all." He hummed to himself, "it's actually cute."

"Really?"

"Really what?"

Clear pointed to himself, "Aoba-san thinks I'm cute?"

Aoba blinked, shocked that Clear had heard his musings, "What? I didn't say that!"

"Yes you did," Clear faced Aoba directly, "Just because my eyesight is poor, it does not mean that my hearing is sub-par as well."

Blushing, Aoba turned to face the backpack on the floor beside him, "It's only because you said that I'm cute... Just... returning the favor..."

Aoba was instantly wrapped in a power hug by the "cute" man, "Aoba-san isn't just 'cute'! He's adorable!" Aoba's entire body tensed as he felt the plasticy material of sunglasses nuzzle against his hair, "He also smells nice!"

"Huh?" Aoba struggled to free himself from Clear's grip, "I smell like greasy breakfast!" That statement was only half true as he usually smelled like his job, but this morning (and the previous night) Aoba had scrubbed himself for a combined total of nearly three hours in preparation. Which meant that at this very moment, Aoba smelled like a mixture of Shea butter and 'coconut kiss.'

"No, Aoba-san smells like tropical breakfast!" 

Aoba's embarrassment soon put an end to the conversation, and for the rest of the ride, he helplessly sat as Clear fawned over how cute he was. By the time the train arrived at the station, not one strand of Aoba's hair has gone untouched, and he now sported a sloppy braid down the right side of his head that threatened to impair his vision if it fell any closer to his face. Standing on the platform, Aoba waited patiently for all of five seconds as Clear ogled over the new environment, "It looks just like the other station!" He grabbed Clear's arm and dragged him away from the kiosk he was staring at, "If we don't hurry, we'll be late!"

"Late for what?"

"A surprise." 

Clear followed wordlessly as Aoba led them through the sea of people and out of the station. Once outside, Aoba made a series of left and rights, navigating the streets with ease, unaware of the excitement surging through both their bodies. Once he knew that they were close, Aoba told Clear to close his eyes, and after a small protest, Aoba trusted that the other couldn't see anything. Holding Clear's hand, Aoba led him around one last block. Letting go of Clear's hand, he spoke, "Open."

Feeling around the air for Aoba's hand, Clear responded to Aoba's command, "Open what Aoba-san?"

"Your eyes doofus!" 

"Right..."

A moment of silence ensued as Clear took in the surprise. Aoba could hear him mumble the words 'Midorijima Marine Center' under his breath as he tried to discern their location. Three seconds later, Aoba heard the sound of hands clasping together and the smile on his voice as Clear finally spoke, "Is Aoba-san taking me to an aquarium?"

"Yes."

"A real life aquarium with fish?"

"Yes."

"Am I going to get to see jellyfish?"

Aoba nodded, and a gasp of excitement passed through Clear's lips as they walked across the street, through the entrance of the aquarium, and to the ticket booth. Since the place had just barely opened, there wasn't a long line to wait in. 

Ten minutes later, the pair were standing in front of a tank that was crawling with crustaceans. Aoba watched Clear as he pressed his finger up against the glass and giggled as a lobster tried to grab it from the other side. To be honest, Aoba didn't really like crustaceans; they made him feel squeamish, but the sight of Clear playing with the lobster could only be described as a childish kind of cute. Aoba patiently waited until the lobster realized that no matter how hard it tried, it would never get to the finger on the other side of the glass.

Clear stood from the glass and looked at Aoba, "Does Aoba-san like lobsters?"

Aoba shook his head, "Not really."

"I see..." Clear turned back to the tank, "What kind of fish do you like?"

Aoba hummed to himself as he tried to think about the types of fish he liked. He hadn't really thought about it that much since he was more of a dog person, but if he had to choose, "I guess I like cuttlefish..."

Aoba couldn't see it, but Clear was blinking his widened eyes in surprise, "Aoba-san likes...cuttlefish?"

Aoba nodded, "They look like rainbow torpedoes!" He turned to look for a tank that could have cuttlefish, "And when they eat," He headed down the hall of tanks; Clear followed, "They do this cool thing with their tentacles!" If Clear had a response, Aoba was too busy looking for cuttlefish to hear it. He was too immersed in his search that he hadn't realized that Clear had wandered off to look at some clownfish. Once he found the cuttlefish, Aoba turned around to point them out to Clear, but when he did, he realized that the other was nowhere to be seen. He looked around, scanning the slowly forming crowd for a pair of sunglasses and a surgical mask, "Clear?" No answer, "Clear?" Aoba raised his voice as he called out again, "Clear, where are you?"

Just as he was about to get paranoid, Aoba saw a gloved hand stick out from the crowd; a familiar voice called out, "Aoba-san!"

"Clear!" Aoba pushed his way through the crowd towards the hand, towards Clear. Once Clear was in his sight, Aoba quickened his pace. He was planning on apologizing the moment he closed the gap, but Clear beat him to it.

"I'm terribly sorry Aoba-san!" Clear's entire body tensed, "I was following, but I saw the clownfish and I just couldn't help myself..." His voice trailed off as he spoke, but Aoba thought he heard another "I'm terribly sorry." at the end of it.

"No Clear, I should be the one apologizing." Aoba scratched the back of his neck and looked down at his shoes, too embarrassed to look Clear in the eyes, "I got too carried away with the cuttlefish, and, well..." He chuckled, "Sorry 'bout that."

"It's alright, I'm just glad Aoba-san isn't angry."

"Why would I be mad? It's your first time at an aquarium, right?" Clear nodded, "So you should be able to see whatever you want, right?"

"I should?"

"Yeah!" Aoba turned to look at the clownfish, "Why wouldn't you be?"

"But if we only get to see what I want, then won't Aoba-san get bored?"

Aoba spoke, keeping his gaze on the clownfish, watching as they weaved their way around the coral, "Listen. If I was going to get bored spending a day with you, then I wouldn't have invited you in the first place."

"Aoba-san!" Clear pressed his face against the glass, he inched closer to Aoba as he continued, "You're very talented when it comes to cheering people up!"

He tried to ignore the image of Clear in his peripherals as he responded, "That's a weird way of putting it..."

"How is my way of wording things weird?"

"Well," Aoba focused his gaze on a puffer fish towards the top of the tank, "I just don't consider cheering up people to be a talent."

"Why not?"

Aoba sighed, "Because I can piss off a person just as easily as I can put a smile on their face, doesn't take talent to talk to people."

"It doesn't?"

Aoba tapped his finger up against the glass in front of the puffer fish so that it turned into a spiky ball, "Nope."

"Aoba-san"

"Hmmm?"

Clear pointed to the sign above the tank, "I don't you're supposed to do that."

Aoba breathed the words  _Please do not scare the Puffer Fish_ silently before cursing under his breath and incredulously stepping back from the tank, "Wanna go see something else?"

Clear nodded, "You wanted to show me the cuttlefish, right?"

Aoba smiled as he took Clear's hand, "Just to make sure we don't loose each other."

Clear chuckled as he repeated Aoba's words in mantra. He then followed behind Aoba as the latter led them to where the cuttlefish were.

"Yes!" Aoba nearly let go of Clear's hand as he rushed over to the tank, "They're being fed!" He turned to Clear, "You gotta see this!" Aoba's excitement rubbed off on the other, and the pair watched as the cuttlefish changed colors and attacked the little shrimps on sticks. Aoba's focus was concentrated on the way they poised their tentacles as they approached the shrimp, while Clear concentrated on trying to name all of the colors flashing before his eyes. They watched until all the shrimps had been devoured and the cuttlefish went back to their usual routine.

They stepped back from the tank and wandered around the aquarium for a couple hours, looking at whatever caught their eye when Clear suddenly asked, "Do you know where the jellyfish are?"

"About that-"

"Are you saying that there aren't any jellyfish?"

Aoba shook his head, "Nononononono!" Aoba pulled a brochure out of his pocket and handed it to Clear. He pointed to the section that had been circled several times over with a big red marker, "Here, _this_ is the real surprise."

A warm feeling crept into Aoba's chest as he watched Clear gasp with excitement. The brochure trembled in his hands as he spoke, "Aoba-san, it this real?"

"Mhmm."

"I'm not dreaming?"

"Nope."

"Are you're sure we're at the right aquarium?"

"This is the only aquarium on the island..."

With that, Clear's body was trembling with too much excitement to even hold the pamphlet; Aoba watched as it fell to the floor. He was about to say something when he felt Clear wrap around his body in a borderline deadly hug, "This is the nicest thing that anyone has ever done for me." Clear's voice shook as he spoke, "I don't know if I can every repay you."

Returning the hug, Aoba replied, "Let's go see some jellies."

Clear nodded, "Let's."

Aoba took Clear's hand in his own again and led him to the recently installed jellyfish dome. Once inside the dome, the pair became speechless. The dome was a little over three and a half meters tall, with a diameter twice that length. All around them were jellyfish; Aoba didn't know a whole lot about them, but he knew that there were a bunch of different kinds. Sunlight filtered in through the top of the tank. In reality, the dome was a little air pocket sitting in the bottom of an eight meter by eight meter outdoor tank. At this very moment, they had stepped into a room that was outside, underwater, swarming with jellyfish, and absolutely stunning. At the moment, they were the only people in the dome, and part of Aoba wanted to keep it that way. He looked over at Clear, and noticed that the mask he was wearing was slightly damp just underneath his eyes. _Is he crying?_

A sniffle from the man answered his question.

"Aoba-san," He sniffled, "This is amazing!" He tightened his grip on Aoba's hand, "It's almost too much."

Aoba looked around the tank again, "It really is beautiful." He led Clear to the center of the tank, "But we can probably get a better look from here."

The pair looked around for a bit, staring at the jellyfish trying to discern whether or not the sheer beauty of the tank was amazing or overwhelming. Aoba focused on a giant golden jellyfish as he knew that looking at Clear would cause the warm feeling in his chest to take over and spin him out of control. He was looking at the rays of light surrounding the creature, admiring it's beauty as Clear ran over to the walls of the dome and called out to him, "Look Aoba-san comb jellies!"

"Hmmm?" Aoba headed over to where Clear was standing and looked at what Clear called _'comb jellies.'_   They didn't look like the type of jellyfish Aoba was used to seeing. They didn't have tentacles, and they moved about freely, as if they had an actual place to be at. He stared at these  _'comb jellies,'_   and noticed that they reflected the sunlight in such a way that they shimmered. Aoba concentrated on the jellyfish as he spoke, "They're pretty."

Clear nodded, "They're also bioluminescent."

"Bioluminescent?"

"They can light up in the dark."

"That. Is. Awesome." Aoba began to look around the tank at the other jellyfish, "Can any of the other ones do that?"

"A few."

"We should come back at night sometime." Aoba suggested.

"I don't think that they'll be open this late Aoba-san."

"Nothing's stopping us from sneaking in."

Clear shook his head and waved his hands in front of his face, "But Aoba-san, that would be illegal!"

"But it would totally be worth it!"

"Really?"

"Yeah! Neither of us have seen glow in the dark light-up jellyfish before!"

"That's true but-"

"'But' nothing!" Aoba walked over to the other side of the dome. Trying to change the subject, Aoba pointed to another jellyfish, "What's this one do?"

Aoba smiled as Clear walked over to where he was and told him all about the yellow jellyfish he was pointing at. He tried to understand what Clear was saying, but it all went in one ear and out the other, mainly due to the fact that Clear used a lot of what Aoba called "Weird Science Words," in his explanation. However, despite this, he enjoyed the sound of Clear's voice, so for the next couple hours, Aoba would point out a jellyfish, and listen to the other's voice as he explained anything and everything there was to know about the creature. 

By the time they had finished with the jellies, it was three o'clock, and they had an hour and a half until they had to be back at the train. By this point, both of them had had their fill of aquarium, and Aoba had decided that they were both hungry. At first, Clear had protested, for fear of people seeing his face, but Aoba said that he knew a place with private booths, and that he wouldn't look because he knew better. What he didn't mention to Clear was that the only reason why he knew of such a place was because it was run by his rather bold, childhood friend.

As they approached the restaurant, part of Aoba began to regret his decision, but once he opened the door, and the ring of the little bell resounded throughout the establishment, he realized that there was no going back. The restaurant didn't usually start to fill up until around four, so at the moment, they were the only customers, but instead of waiting to be seated like a normal customer would have, Aoba led Clear up to the bar and called out to the owner, "Oi, Hippo!"

A head popped out from back room behind the bar, "I am _not!_ "

"You sure about that?"

The head stepped out of the room to reveal a somewhat handsome man in his late twenties with slick black hair tied back in a ponytail. A scar graced the bridge of his nose, and underneath the bangs covering the right side of his face, the faint markings of a tattoo could be seen. Aoba knew that if it weren't for the man's clothes, one would see many tattoos, some of which were intentional, some of which were mistakes. The man was very obviously about to say something quite offensive as a comeback, but stopped when his eyes settled on Clear, "Well," He stepped closer to the pair and flashed them a suggestive grin, "It seems like you've brought a friend."

Clear politely shook his head, "I'm afraid it isn't like that mister..." his voice trailed off when he realized that he had no clue what the man's name was.

Realizing this as well, the man introduced himself, "Koujaku, and you are?"

"My apologies, my name is Clear." Aoba watched as Clear's politeness suddenly seemed more suave than innocent, "I'd also like to apologize about my appearance. I suffer from allergies, and when it gets to about this time of year, they can be especially nasty."

 "I'm not judging you on that." Koujaku gestured to Aoba, "But I will judge you on _this._ "

Aoba crossed his arms and pouted, "Like I said! It isn't like that..."

Koujaku mimicked Aoba's body language as he spoke, "And I date women."

Aoba raised his eyebrows as he shook his head, "No, you don't."

"See?"

"What?"

"Now we're both liars."

Aoba blushed as he punched Koujaku's shoulder, "Shut up and get us a private booth!"

"Aoba-san, it isn't good to resort to violence!" 

Aoba looked at Clear, and then to Koujaku, who was rubbing his shoulder, before responding, "That wasn't too violent."

Koujaku scrunched up his face, "For you it isn't!"

Clear looked at Koujaku, "Koujaku-san, what exactly is violent for Aoba-san?"

"Well," the man behind the bar lifted a finger, "One time he knocked this guy out cold on the train..."

Aoba protested, "I was in middle-school!"

Clear butted in, "Aoba-san made someone go unconscious when he was a middle-schooler?"

Koujaku nodded, "It was quite terrifying. He knocked out several of the guy's teeth."

Aoba waved his arms in self-defence, "He was  _touching_ my _BUTT!"_ His face grew flushed as he continued, "Like seriously _GROPING_ my _ASS._ He was also whispering all of this dirty stuff in my ear! He had it coming!" Deciding that he had had enough of Koujaku's teasing, Aoba grabbed Clear's arm, "Just like how hippo here isn't getting any of our money!"

"Aoba-san!" Was all Clear could say in protest as an obviously irritated Aoba dragged him out of the restaurant.

 

__________

 

For the first half of the train ride back, neither of them said anything. Aoba was too ashamed to speak, and Clear had no idea what to say. Aoba stared at his hands and twiddled his thumbs. He knew that he would have to apologize to Koujaku, sooner rather than later. He rarely blew up at his friend like that, so whenever he did, it was a shock to the both of them. Aoba was always the first to apologize in these situations because "these situations" always came about whenever he took something that Koujaku had said too seriously. In the moment, getting very angry always seemed like the proper response, but afterwards, it always dawned on him that he had responded in the least effective way possible. Thinking about what he should say to Koujaku made Aoba realize that he should also apologize to the man sitting next to him. He had dragged Clear with him in the first place, but then he had also dragged him out without notice. Aoba heaved a sigh and rubbed his temples between his fingertips.

"Aoba-san, is there a problem?"

Clear's question caught Aoba off-guard; he looked up to face the sunglasses and mask that were staring at him, "No, I'm just really sorry is all. I was a real brat back there."

Clear shook his head, "You shouldn't be apologizing to me Aoba-san. I think that Koujaku-san is the one who deserves an apology."

Aoba shook his head, "He does, but you do too. I didn't deserve to drag you around like that. I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it." Clear leaned back against his seat, "I forgive you Aoba-san."

Aoba smiled, "Thanks, I needed that."

For the rest of the ride, the silence between them resumed, but this time, Aoba no longer felt the heavy cloud of guilt from before. For Aoba, the silence was refreshing. He stared out the window with Clear and watched the late afternoon sky as it reflected off the surface of the ocean. He thought about how nice it would be if he could go to that ocean with Clear on an actual date. He fantasized about what it would be like if they rented a boat and rode out into the waves and spent the entire day there. He then wondered what it would be like swim with Clear in water filled with glow in the dark light-up jellyfish at night. He thought about how beautiful it would be if he could kiss Clear while standing in the shallows of the jellyfish water. He imagined this scene on repeat for the rest of the ride; each time he replayed the scene, Clear had a different face.

When they got off the train, Aoba was surprised when Clear asked if it was okay if he could walk him home. Having no reason to say no, Aoba let him. On the way back to his house, Aoba kept inching his hand closer to Clear's but he was too nervous to actually grab it. His heart was thumping out of his chest, and he could tell that he was blushing as well. Occasionally, Aoba would glance up at Clear, who was humming a song that he had never heard before. He wanted to ask, but he also didn't want to interrupt Clear, as the song was really lovely. Sometimes, it seemed as though he was humming a lullaby, but then the melody would pick up, giving Aoba an overwhelming feeling of wanting to dance. Loosing track of time, Aoba lost himself in a mixture of Clear's humming and late afternoon glow as they aimlessly maneuvered the city streets.

It wasn't until they were standing in front of Aoba's house when Clear finally said something, "Aoba-san, would you please close your eyes?"

"Alright." Aoba closed his eyes.

"Please don't open them unless it is absolutely necessary."

Aoba nodded. He stood patiently on his front doorstep, eyes closed, heart thumping in anticipation as he felt a pair of lips press against his own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took a while to make this chapter... Wow, friggin' school...  
> Serious thanks and love to anyone and everyone who has read this!  
> Seriously, it legit makes my day (^_^)


	5. What is With You?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Is Aoba the square root of two? Because he is very irrational in this chapter...But Clear's okay with that because he's an inverse variation and Aoba is his asymptote. lol math. But seriously, Aoba does stupid things, and Clear is just an adorable baby who likes to show affection through song and dance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a new kitchen word thing. Maybe... a tabletop can opener is a type of can opener. It's a pain in the ass, and as far as I know, most people don't keep one at home. http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/318X7%2BAASAL._SY300_.jpg They look like that, and are pure evil. I dislike them strongly. (OnlybecauseIcan'tusethem...)  
> So without further adieu, the chapter that you may or may not have been waiting for!

When Aoba opened his eyes again, he found himself staring at the same mask and sunglasses that he had grown accustomed to. He tried to hide his disappointment while he stared down at the gloves on Clear's hands. Blood rushed furiously to his face and sweat formed on his palms as his heart tried to free itself from his chest. His heart's relentless, erratic, thumping grew to be unbearable as he watched the gloved hands make their way to his face. The texture of the fabric threatened to light Aoba's cheeks on fire. As he attempted to speak, his words stopped themselves halfway up his throat, leaving him a speechless puddle of blush and confusion.

"Aoba-san,"

Clear lifted Aoba's face so that he had no choice but to gaze at the tinted plastic lenses, "Y-yeah?"

"Thank you for today," Clear inched his face closer to Aoba's, "It was the most fun I've ever had."

"Oh, well... um-"

Aoba stopped fumbling with his words as he felt the material of Clear's mask press against his forehead, "Good night, Aoba-san."

Too stunned to actually respond, Aoba just watched dizzily as Clear stepped down from the front step and wandered off into the maze of streets and houses. After Clear had gone, Aoba shakily opened his front door and wobbled inside, trying to regain control over his body.Deciding that he needed coffee, Aoba kicked off his shoes and shuffled over to the kitchen. He stood in front of the coffee machine and reflected on what just happened as he watched the coffee drip into the pot. _He kissed me. Clear actually kissed me. But if he kissed me, then why did he hide his face after? Does he like me? I hope he likes me..._ Aoba was so busy thinking about the kiss that he didn't notice his grandmother walking into the kitchen with a bag of groceries. She cleared her throat as she headed over to the counter, which caused Aoba to leap nearly three feet in the air, "Ah! Granny!"

In a mocking tone, Aoba's grandmother lifted her free arm in the air and mimicked her grandson, "Ah! Aoba!" She placed the bag on the counter and began to remove the groceries. She handed Aoba a carton of eggs, "Put these in the fridge, will ya?"

"Sure thing," Aoba turned to the fridge and put the carton on top of another identical carton. Out of habit, he switched the cartons around so that the older one was on top. Before closing the door, he grabbed the carton of cream sitting in the side shelf. When he turned around, he saw that his grandmother was right behind him. Nearly dropping the carton, he stepped back into the fridge, "Jesus Granny!"

"Christ Aoba!" She thrust a carton of milk at him, "Put this in there too."

"Yeah, yeah," Aoba took the milk and put it in the fridge before returning to the coffee pot. He reached up to the cupboard above it and grabbed a mug; his grandmother cleared her throat again. Taking the hint, Aoba grabbed a second mug and placed it on the counter. He poured coffee into both of the mugs, and handed one to his grandmother before relentlessly spooning heaps of sugar into his mug and topping it off with more than enough cream. He headed over to the table where his grandmother was already sitting and took the chair across from her.

"So," She sipped her coffee, "Who is it?"

Feigning ignorance, Aoba blinked, "Who's who?"

"The person you went out with." Her tone flattened as she spoke.

Aoba took a sip of his coffee, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Then what _did_ you do all day?"

Thinking back to his day with Clear, Aoba smiled, "Stuff."

"What kind of stuff?"

"Oh you know," He took another sip of coffee, "Things."

His grandmother rolled her eyes and took another sip of coffee, "I take it you enjoyed these _things?_ "

Before Aoba could answer, the sound of the front door opening and closing took his attention. He looked over his shoulder and saw Ren run into the kitchen, followed by his brother, who looked like he had just woken up. He watched as Sei took the chair next to Granny. It now looked as though Aoba was being interviewed for a job.

Sei placed both of his hands on top of the table as he spoke, "So, how was the aquarium?"

"HA!" His grandmother slammed her hand against the table and began to laugh, "Out of all the places you could go for a date, and you went to the _aquarium?!"_ She continued to laugh at her grandson, "How LAME!"

Aoba blushed and stared down at Ren, who was sitting at his feet, "It was his first time..."

"Wait." Sei raised his eyebrows, "He was how old? And it was his first time at an aquarium?"

"25, and yes it was."

Apparently, Granny got a kick out of this, and she began to laugh again, "Who is this guy?!"

Aoba sipped some coffee, "Someone from work."

"You mean that weird sunglasses guy!?" Sei nearly fell out of his chair.

"Shut up!" Aoba stood from the table and grabbed his mug, "Just because Mizuki thinks he's weird, doesn't mean anything!" He took a sip of coffee, "As a matter of fact, _Clear_ and I had a wonderful time." he sneered at his brother, "He even kissed me!" Before Sei, or his grandmother, could even come up with a response, Aoba shuffled out of the kitchen and up the stairs. Once in his room, Aoba shut the door behind him and headed out towards the french doors that led to the veranda. He stood out on the veranda and stared at the wall of the building next to his while drinking his coffee and trying not to think about anything. _I think I put too much sugar. It's too sweet, just like a certain someone. Shut up me! I'm not supposed to be thinking right now! But he kissed me! Oh my God I think he likes me! But if he likes me, then why won't he show me his face?!_ Frustrated with his thoughts for betraying him, Aoba whipped the mug above his head, causing coffee to fly everywhere before hurling the mug at the building across from him. He cursed out loud as he watched the mug shatter into a million little pieces and fall to the ground. He then hurried to get inside and shut the curtains behind him before his neighbor, who he found to be particularly anal, could come out and complain about everything and blame it all on the coffee mug. 

Now that he was inside, Aoba looked down at himself and realized that he was covered in coffee, "Damn it, I liked this shirt..."

 

\----------

 

After a particularly frustrating night of trying to clean his shirt and not think about the meaning behind the kiss, Aoba didn't really feel like going to work, but he wanted to see Clear. He _needed_ to see Clear, he needed to know what was behind the kiss. He intended to confront Clear the moment he saw him, but apparently, part of him had other intentions. When he saw Clear come through the door, Aoba suddenly decided that it was a good time to make yet another batch of donuts. Ignoring Clear's greeting, Aoba began to mindlessly sift flower into a large bowl. Without realizing what he was doing, Aoba kept adding flour to the bowl until it started to spill out onto the counter. He sighed with annoyance as he scraped the excess flour into a pile. Turning to get the trash can, Aoba nearly fainted at what he saw. Right in front of him, stood Clear, but what shocked him wasn't Clear, it was his hands. Aoba's eyes widened as he stared at the two, seemingly foreign, appendages coming from Clear's wrists.

"Aoba-san?" Clear held up the trash can, "Do you need this?"

Instead of taking the trash can, Aoba sputtered out a series of confused sounds before asking Clear, "Is there a problem?"

Clear cocked his head to the side, "Not that I can think of..."

"B-but," Aoba looked down at Clear's hands, "Your hands..."

Clear looked down at his hands, he sighed as he spoke, "Are they bothering you?"

Aoba took the trash can, "Nononono!" He scraped the wasted flour into the bin, "It's a nice change." He turned to put the can back in its usual spot; he blushed as he continued, "I, I like them."

Clear held up his hands so that Aoba could get a proper look at them, "Aoba-san, likes my hands?"

Aoba nodded as he looked more closely at Clear's hands. They were very pale, which was probably due to the fact that they were covered most of the time, and larger than Aoba had expected them to be. His fingers were long in comparison to the length of his palms. They were slender, but still broad enough to be unmistakeably a man's. However, instead of satiating part of Aoba's curiosity towards Clear's appearance, the man's hands only made him wonder even more. His desire to see Clear's face grew every second he stared at those hands.

"Oh, what's this?" Aoba looked up to see Virus hovering over Clear's shoulders, staring at his newly exposed hands, "Finally coming out of our shell are we?"

Clear looked over his shoulder and glanced at the man behind him, "I don't recall being in a shell Virus-san."

Aoba was about to explain the meaning of the phrase to Clear when Mizuki beat him to it, "He means that you're comfortable around us."

Clear tapped his index finger against his chin, "If you put it that way, then I guess it would be correct." He rubbed the back of his head, "But I also felt that I could be of more help to everyone if I did things other than dishes."

Out of curiosity, Aoba asked, "Does it have anything to do with what happened yesterday?"

Both Virus and Mizuki stared at the pair while simultaneously asking, "Did something happen yesterday?"

"Yes!" Clear's entire demeanor lit up as he spoke, "Aoba-san and I went on a date!"

Aoba's face turned red as Mizuki turned to him, "I thought that you didn't da-"

Hurling flour in Mizuki's face, Aoba cut him off, "Shut up! We're not talking about that!"

"What aren't we talking about?" Clear looked up at Virus, "Did Mizuki try to bring up something that Aoba-san is sensitive about?"

Virus nodded, chuckling at the sight of Aoba trying to shut Mizuki up by throwing even more flour in his face, "Aoba-san's very sensitive about his _track record_."

"Is Aoba-san an athlete?"

"If one night flings were an Olympic sport, Aoba would take the gold."

Aoba called out over his shoulder, "Virus, is you weren't front of the house, I would've dumped this entire bucket of flour over your stupid head!"

Virus ran his fingers through his blond hair, "I'm sure Haga-san would appreciate that."

Both Clear and Virus flinched as a whisk flew past both their heads and landed with a splash in the dishwater, "Don't test me!"

"Aoba-san!" Clear rushed over to the man who was clearly in need of a breather, "Why don't we go outside for a minute?"

Trying to relax his body, Aoba nodded and followed Clear outside, feeling bad that Mizuki and Virus would most likely end up cleaning the mess he had just made. Once outside, he sat on the stoop and his his face in his hands, "God, I am such an idiot!"

Clear tried to reassure Aoba by rubbing his back with one hand, and placing the other on Aoba's tensed up shoulders, "It's alright Aoba-san."

"How exactly? Not only did I overreact, but now you know how terrible I am!"

"Aoba-san isn't a terrible person."

"But you just heard it from both Virus and Mizuki: I'm nothing more than a whore..."

"That doesn't make you a bad person," Clear grabbed both of Aoba's wrists and moved his hands away from his face, "It just means that you find sex pleasurable."

Upon hearing this, Aoba began to laugh uncontrollably, "I'm sorry, that just sounds too ridiculous to actually be genuine!"

Clear readjusted his hands so that he was holding both of Aoba's hands. Unfazed by Aoba's reaction to his words, he spoke, "But it is." He pressed their foreheads together, causing Aoba to instantly shut up, "The amount of people Aoba-san has slept with doesn't make him any less beautiful."

Shocked by this reaction, Aoba's face nearly caught on fire as he stuttered, "Y-you think that I-I'm b-beautiful?"

Clear nodded, "The most beautiful."

"Even though I've thrown two hissy fits in the past two days?"

Clear nodded again, "To be honest, Aoba-san looks cute when he's mad."

Looking down at their hands, Aoba muttered, "You lookin' to get smacked?"

"If it's Aoba-san, I wouldn't mind."

"Geez," Aoba removed one of his hands from Clear's grip so that he could playfully smack the side of his head, "If anyone else had said that, I would have called them a kinky little shit!"

"What's a 'kinky little shit?'"

"Exactly my point." Deciding that they have spent enough time outside, Aoba stood up, dragging Clear with him, "We should probably get back to work." Clear nodded, and with that, Aoba led them back inside. 

 

\--------

 

After the morning fiasco, the rest of the day went pretty smoothly. Aoba taught Clear how to peel potatoes (that was, after teaching him how to hold the knife). He also taught him how to use the table-top can opener that Aoba found to be a particular pain in the ass. Luckily for him, Clear was a real prodigy when it came to all things kitchen. The only exception to this was the long list of convoluted terminology that Aoba was currently trying to teach him. They were standing in front of one of the toasters as Aoba figured it would be easier to teach if he had props. 

"Okay, so, Chef says 'drop the toast.' What do you do?"

"I do this?" Clear picked up a piece of bread and dropped it in the cutting board.

"No," Aoba took the piece of bread and put it in the toaster, "When Chef says 'drop the toast,' you do this." he pushed down on the handle, activating the toaster.

"So I just make toast when he says that?"

"Yep," Aoba motioned to the toaster, "So, if I ordered this toast dry, what would you do?"

"Easy," Clear held up and index finger, "I'd keep it from getting wet!"

Aoba sighed, "Toast isn't supposed to be wet..."

"So all toast is dry?"

"No," The toast popped up from the toaster; Aoba grabbed it and put it on the cutting board, " _This_ is dry toast."

"But it's plain.."

"That's the point; dry toast _is_ plain toast!"

"Got it."

Aoba picked up a butter spreader from the knife rack, "What's this for?"

"Spreading butter on toast."

"Correct." He handed it to Clear, "Now butter the toast."

Clear stared at the toast on the cutting board before looking up at Aoba, "But it's supposed to be dry."

"It's alright, it's just a practice toast."

"What's a-"

"It's nothing!" Aoba pointed to the butter container next to the toaster, "Just butter the toast."

Clear nodded and scooped out a heap of butter with the spreader. He was about to spread it on the toast, but Aoba stopped him.

"Too much butter!"

Startled by Aoba's sudden exclamation, Clear threw both of his arms back, causing the blob of butter to slide off the spreader and hit Aoba square in the face.

"Aoba-san!" Clear collapsed to the floor and began to grovel, "I'm truly, terribly, sorry!"

"It's alright Clea-"

Just as Aoba was beginning to reassure him, Mizuki peeked his head out from behind the line, "Oh. My. God. Did you just get Aoba in the face?!" He began to laugh as he attempted to speak to Aoba, "Karma's a bitch, ain't it?"

As soon as Aoba was about to respond, Virus sauntered in with dirty dishes from the front of the house, "What's this about Aoba-san and karma?" He turned to look at the blob of butter that had began to slide down Aoba's face. He chuckled at the sight of it, "I regret not bringing a camera."

Sliding his hand down his face, Aoba removed the butter and flicked it into the nearby trash can before kneeling down to Clear, who was still incoherently groveling. Aoba placed his hands on the other's shoulders, "Clear."

Clear looked up, "Aoba-san..."

"Get a room you two!"

Aoba looked up over his shoulder, "Shut up Mizuki." He turned his attention back to Clear, "You don't need to be sorry."

"But I-"

"It was an accident, and besides," Aoba stood up, helping Clear to his feet as he spoke, "It _was_ pretty funny."

"If you say so Aoba-san."

"Okay..." Aoba turned and headed over to the sink, "Moving on..." He began to wash his hands, "So, do you think you understand toast?"

"Yes!" Clear hurried over to the sink, squished beside Aoba, and began to wash his hands as well, "Thank you!"

"Well then," Aoba hummed to himself, "What's next?"

Clear looked up at the clock above the sink, "We do close in two minutes,"

"Riiight... your shift usually ends at close, right?"

Clear nodded, "Does Aoba-san wish for me to stay?"

"If you have nothing planned, I'd like to teach you the clean-up routine."

"Alright."

After that, all conversation turned into training as Aoba taught Clear how to clean up at the end of the day. They started by finishing off the dishes, and then washing all of the cutting boards. Aoba then showed Clear how to disinfect all of the counter tops, and how to properly clean the flat-top. Once they had finished up in the kitchen, Aoba led Clear to the front of the house, "If we're lucky, Virus would have done his job properly, and we won't have anything to do out here."

"What's there to do out here?"

"One word: bathrooms..." Aoba cringed internally at the thought of having to wash the bathrooms again.

"Only the bathrooms get cleaned?"

"No," Aoba inspected the bar, "The whole front of the house gets cleaned, but" Seeing that the bar had passed inspection, Aoba headed over to a random table and inspected it as well, "The bathrooms are the worst."

"I see," Clear headed over to one of the bathrooms; he opened the door and peeked inside.

Aoba heaved a sigh of relief when he heard the words, "All clear" come from the lavatory. However, just to be sure, Aoba walked over to the doorway and peeked in. Seeing that the bathroom was as a matter of fact, clean, Aoba smiled, "Guess that leaves only two things left to do."

"And those would be?"

"The best part," Aoba headed back into the kitchen, "Follow me."Once inside the kitchen, Aoba led Clear to the storage room. Pulling the mop and bucket from the corner, he handed it to Clear, "Hold this please." Once Clear took the mop and bucket, Aoba went to the other corner of the closet and grabbed the broom and dustpan. He then came out of the closet, Clear followed.

"Are we going to clean the floor?"

Aoba nodded, "Yes," He walked over to the radio that lived on a rack above the toaster, "It's pretty self-explanatory, right?" Clear nodded, and Aoba began to flip through the stations, "Is there any type of music you like?"

Clear shook his head, "I'm fine with whatever Aoba-san likes."

"Aww c'mon," Aoba turned to face Clear, "Don't be like that!" He ushered Clear to the radio, "You pick a station!"

"Aoba-san?"

"Hmm?"

"If you wouldn't mind, would it be okay if I sang instead? I feel like singing at the moment."

Blushing slightly, Aoba nodded, "If that's what you want."

Clear nodded, and with that, he began to sing as he mopped the front of the house. He started out softly, and Aoba strained to hear his words from the kitchen. However, his voice soon grew louder, and Aoba began to forget about sweeping the tiles and started to focus on the sound of Clear's voice. Aoba had no idea what song he was singing, but he knew that whatever it was, Clear knew how to sing it. His voice sounded like something out of a dream Aoba had when he was a child wherein he had died and went to heaven. As Aoba swept, he began to dance with the broom as he usually did, but this time, it was unintentional. His feet just moved on their own, and he did nothing to stop them. Once he had finished sweeping the kitchen, he wandered out to the front of the house and saw that Clear had just finished with the mop. Being careful with his steps, Aoba headed over to Clear and instead of grabbing the mop like he was supposed to, he grabbed Clear's hands in his own. The mop fell to the floor with a pathetic thud as Aoba spoke, "Mind if we take a quick break before I mop the kitchen?"

Clear chuckled as he laced their fingers together, "Should I keep singing?"

Aoba nodded, "Please."

Clear brought one of Aoba's hands up to his mask and kissed it through the fabric, "It would be my pleasure." They attempted to dance on the wet floor while maneuvering the way through tables and chairs to the rhythm of Clear's voice. However, since one, the floor was wet, and two, there were tables everywhere, the dance only lasted about five minutes, with Aoba falling flat on his behind as the final move.

After being helped up by Clear, Aoba realized what he was doing. He grew flustered as he looked around for the mop, "I better finish up in the kitchen." He chuckled nervously as he brought the mop and bucket back to the kitchen.

"Do you want me to keep singing?" Clear stood in the doorway, "I don't mind."

Aoba shook his head, "You don't have to, as a matter of fact, you can go home if you want."

"If it's not a problem, I'd like to walk Aoba-san home."

Blushing furiously now, Aoba splashed the mop in the bucket, and frantically slid it over the tiles, "If you really want to..."

"Aww, Aoba-san's so cute!" Was the only thing Clear said before he resumed his singing, while Aoba attempted to maintain his sanity while he mopped the floor.

Once Aoba had finished mopping, he grabbed Clear's hand and the trash bag sitting by the door as he left the building, shutting the lights off with his elbow as he exited. Now outside, Aoba handed the bag to Clear, "You know the dumpster around the corner?" Clear nodded, "Can you put this in there while I lock up?" Clear nodded again, and Aoba heaved a sigh as he watched him turn the corner. Now alone, Aoba could now focus on locking up the building and activating the security alarm. After double checking just to make sure that everything was done properly, Aoba turned around to see Clear standing right behind him.

"Has Aoba-san finished?"

Aoba nodded as he took Clear's hand, "Are you ready?"

"If Aoba-san's ready, then I'm ready."

"Then let's go." Leading the way, Aoba walked out onto the street. The walked wordlessly, holding hands, with each enjoying the other's presence until they made it to a crosswalk. Instead of crossing like they were supposed to, Clear led them down a different street, one of which Aoba was unfamiliar with. He grew nervous, and his grip on Clear's hand tightened as they headed down the foreign street, "Um, Clear?"

"Is there a problem?"

"Well," Aoba stopped walking, "Where exactly are we going?"

"I was thinking that, since Aoba-san took me somewhere nice yesterday, that I should return the favor."

"So you're taking me... where exactly?"

"Somewhere nice." Clear resumed his pace; Aoba wordlessly followed, "I promise that you'll like it."

Without another word, Aoba decided that he trusted Clear. He followed him curiously as the scenery around them changed. The buildings became more and more sparse, as did the number of people. Pretty soon, Aoba could detect the faint scent of the ocean. He suddenly remembered his daydream from the train he had the day before. _Is it going to come true?_ Part of him wished that it would; the other part wasn't ready for it to. Aoba looked down at their hands. The way they were intertwined made him smile both internally and externally. They walked like this until Clear decided that they had made it to their destination. Looking up, Aoba saw that they were standing at the gate of what seemed to be an overly extravagant mansion, "Clear?"

"Aoba-san," Clear gestured to the house with his free hand, "After you."

"Wait." Aoba stared at Clear with a look of utter confusion, "Were going _inside?_ "

Clear nodded, "Well, it _is_ my house."

"Your _WHAT?!"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, that took way longer than I thought it would lol... I started yesterday at eight, took a break at midnight, and then this morning, I sat down at 8AM and was like, "I'm gonna finish before noon!" It's nearly 8PM...  
> Anyway, thank you very much everyone who reads this! Because your kudos and comments and even your views make my day!  
> Part of me wanted to name this chapter "What are those?!" Because overused meme.  
> If all goes according to plan, things will pick up during the next chapter... (•∂^∂•)


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